The Kids Aren't Alright
by wimsicalpan
Summary: (Continuation of Kiddy Corral) Dean is back from hell. He's got questions. What brought him back? When did the fate of the world rest on their shoulders? What has Sam been doing? And what the hell is wrong with Charlotte? Set season 4 onwards. (Dean/OC and hint of Sam/OC different OC) - Updates Thursdays!
1. 2008 September

**A/N: **This is a continuation of _Kiddy Corral_. The last story finished up with Dean going to hell and this picks up five months later. Those five months will be filled in and you will begin to learn what happens.

_**Five Months Later**_

2008 – September

_Ohio - Northwood_

The memory of hell clung to every fibre of Deans being. He tried to push it to the back of his mind as he followed behind Bobby's car in his Impala. He'd missed his car. Missed Sam and Bobby. Missed the luxury of water and the ability to sleep. But right now, he just wanted to wrap his arms around Charlotte. He wanted to thread his fingers through her hair and kiss her deeply to remind himself that he was free from hell.

When Bobby had told him that Sam had up and disappeared in the months since he'd died, his heart had started to break. When he'd learnt that Bobby had consumed alcohol like it was candy his heart had started to shatter. But when he'd learnt that Charlotte had pretty much followed in Sam's footsteps, after Bobby had told him she really had been alive when Lilith had possessed her but that she had been "real quiet, almost not quite there", Dean had found it hard to keep the pieces of his heart together.

Bobby had tried to kill him. Sam had tried to kill him and Dean tried to mentally prepare himself for Charlotte trying to kill him as they crossed the town's border. He had no idea what to expect and as they turned into the parking lot of a back water motel he felt his chest begin to ache.

Her Pontiac sat close by, dirt climbing its sides as if it hadn't been washed in months. The dents he remembered seeing in the side were still there, along with a few additions to the roof, hood and trunk. It hurt him to look at it. That had been her pride and joy. He hated to imagine what state she would be in.

"Room 8," Sam said and Dean followed behind Sam and Bobby to the right door. He felt his stomach knot with worry as Sam raised a hand and knocked.

Dean stuffed his hands into his pockets and his eyes surveyed the area before he glanced at the window. He frowned as he watched the curtain move half an inch before it fell back into place. The front door being wrenched open snapped his head to the open door and he stared.

Charlotte stood, her body tense and her eyes wary. The blue shirt she wore was stained with drops of blood. Her jeans had rips just above the knees. But it was the gun she held in one hand and the silver knife in the other, trained on just him, that had him curious and worried at the same time.

"What are you?" she ground out, her eyes dark with every promise of shooting him.

"It's him," Bobby said and Dean watched silently as she turned her attention to Bobby. At this angle Dean caught the sight of a fresh slice across her arm and he wondered how that had happened.

She turned the knife in her hand so that the handle was facing them and said, "Prove it."

Sam took the blade first, rolled up his sleeve and nicked his own skin. He held the blade out to Dean and he noticed that her grip on her gun tightened just that little bit. As he glanced over the weapon he found his frown deepening at the sight of bloodied knuckles and bruised wrists. He stared at her as he took the weapon and used it on the spot he'd used to prove to Bobby that he was him. As his blood trickled red he flicked his eyes up to her. Her mouth parted slightly and her hands started to lower. When he passed the knife to Bobby there was something close to doubt in her eyes.

Dean waited before Bobby slit his own skin before he tried a smile and the words, "It's good to see you again Charlotte."

A brief smile flickered over her lips as she lowered her gun. "Good to see you too." Her eyes moved to Sam and lingered on Dean before she frowned at the three of them. "How'd you find me anyway?"

Sam was the one who answered, "GPS in your phone."

She turned her head with a slight look of confusion into her room before irritation took over her face. "Right," she said before she slowly turned her head back to face them. There was conflict in her eyes and Dean tried to get a read on her but he couldn't tell what was going on. Then she was turning around and stepping back into the motel room, pushing the door open. "Guess you should come inside then," she threw over her shoulder.

Dean was the last to enter and he hesitated in the doorway before he closed the door. Empty bottles, bits of paper, books and food wrappers littered the surfaces and there was a bloodied towel draped over the chair. He fixed his eyes on her and watched as she tossed her gun onto the bed and grabbed her phone from the bedside table.

"You forget how to call?" Bobby asked.

She flicked her eyes up then and Dean caught a glimpse of a wound just underneath her hairline. "Sorry," she said.

It was Sam who asked the million dollar question, "What happened to you?"

There was a moment of hesitation before she said simply, "Bad hunt." Her eyes moved to Dean and there was something off in the way she looked him over. "How are you alive?"

"Was kinda hoping you could tell me."

"Wish I could," she said. Her eyes moved to look over all of them and she frowned. "So," she started, moving to perch herself on the end of the bed, "what's the news?"

The three of them gave each other a look before Bobby started to talk, "Few demons decided Pontiac, Illinois would be a good place to haul ass."

She frowned, her eyes flicking to Dean, "That's where you were buried."

Sam nodded, "Yeah. They arrived about the same time Dean got out yesterday morning."

"So not a coincidence then," she said.

"Yeah," Sam said, "but we've no idea what they're planning."

"But it's something big," Bobby said.

Sam nodded his head once, "Right. We need help."

Dean's eyes were fixed on Charlotte, on the way she studied Sam and Bobby, the way she cradled her phone in her hands as if she was expecting a phone call, the way her eyes told him that she was listening but that her thoughts were distracted with something else.

"I know a psychic. A few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking," Bobby said.

Dean tuned back into the conversation completely then and listened to Sam say that it was worth a shot. He fixed Charlotte with a look and said, "You in?"

She glanced at him, at Bobby then at Sam before she shrugged a shoulder. "Sure. Why not? I was just about finished here anyway." She stood and turned her attention to the room before she lifted her gaze to Bobby, "Just give me five minutes to clean up and I'll be out."

"Alright, but be quick," Bobby said before he stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "It's good to see you alive Charlotte." A faint smile barely reached her eyes and Dean tilted his head back with a frown. When the other two men started to move Dean took a step away from the door and passed them a tight smile. Sam gave him a smile and passed a look to Charlotte who just stared at him.

When it was just the two of them Dean closed the door and took a step in her direction. "What's going on with you?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I've no idea what you-"

"Cut the crap. Something's up with you." He nodded his head to the bottles around the room, "Since when did you drink a liquor store?"

Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "It's been a rough few months Dean."

"And running away from Bobby? Without a word? And I don't get so much as a 'Hi' from you?"

Charlotte turned her head away from him then, the muscles in her jaw working. "Don't," she whispered, slowly turning her head back to face him. "Don't tell me what I should and should not be doing." She turned and started moving around the room, picking things up and either throwing them onto the bed or into the duffle bag that sat in the middle of it. "I'm glad you're alive Dean. I am."

Dean took careful steps until he was behind her and he whispered, "Are you?"

She spun with a glare in her features. "What do you want from me Dean? You want me to wrap my arms around you and tell you I can think straight now? Want me to cry being thankful that you're here? Do I have to grin and be happy all of a sudden because you're back? Is that what you want? I'm glad you're alive. I am, don't you dare think I'm not happy about it."

"Sure look it."

She ground her teeth and he almost reeled his head back at a growling snarl from her. "So I'm not in a hugging mood! Is that a crime now?"

"No!" He took a step back and shook his head, "I just want to know what the hell happened to you?"

"How was hell Dean?"

"What?"

"Well we're playing twenty questions, how was hell?"

He paused, studying her face and trying to figure out what was going behind those angry blue eyes. "I don't remember."

She scoffed and turned her back on him, going back to packing things away or throwing things in the bin. "Of course you don't." Dean watched her, trying to figure what could've happened to her in the months that he'd been gone for her to turn out like this. It worried him. He was about to take a step back and turn back to the door when she froze, her head tilted downwards. Then she dropped a couple of shirts onto the bed and moved her hands up and over her head. She turned and his eyes were drawn to the necklace in her hands, his necklace. "Here," she held it out to him.

He stared at it for a little longer before he looked up at her. Her eyes weren't quite focused on him and he lifted his head ever so slightly. A smile started on his lips and he took a step forward, lifted a hand and took the necklace from her hands. He kept his eyes fixed on her, watching her watch him and he took the necklace in both hands. He took another step forward until they were toe to toe and lifted his hands. Her eyes moved then and she lifted her hands to try to stop him. Dean shook his head, "I want you to have it."

Charlotte stared at him and gave a shake of her head, "No. You wanted me to keep it safe."

He smiled sadly and pushed her arms away. They fell to her sides and he pulled the necklace over her head. "I want you to have it." He watched it fall over her chest and he used his hands to move her hair out of the way, brushing it back over her shoulders. His eyes found her face and he smiled wider at the dumbstruck way she was staring at him. He pressed his hand to her arm and smoothed his thumb over the red cut. She didn't hiss or wince and he quickly cupped her face with his other hand and pulled her in for a quick kiss. He moved back an inch to look at her, to see what her eyes were saying and he couldn't tell what she was thinking, but there was a slight blush working its way over her cheeks that had him curious and smirking.

He'd never made her blush before.

She stared at him and he watched as her shoulder rose and fell with quick breaths. Then she dragged his mouth to hers with her hands behind his neck. He stumbled at the sudden action and they fell against the wall, his body pressing her into the plaster. She kissed him hard, desperately, sloppily and needily and Dean took it just as desperately. He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, missing the warmth of her body pressed against his. He ran a hand through her hair and felt her tug on his shoulder.

Just as quickly as she had started it she ended it, pulling her head back and tugging on his jacket away from her. Her bottom lip was swollen and her skin was flushed and Dean found himself panting, his hands still on her. There was a faint smile to her lips and he felt her hand gently press against his cheek. "You're alive," she whispered.

He grinned and a short laugh escaped him. "Yeah."

A shaky smile started to fill her face before she stepped back, pulling away from him completely. Her arms dropped to her side and she nodded. "Good, keep it that way." She stepped around him, her head low and he watched her continue to pack things up.

Dean sighed and turned to face her back. Something had happened, something bad. He just watched her put things away for a few silent moments before he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll be outside," he said.

She just nodded, her back still to him.

He took one last look at her before he left the motel room. Sam was perched against the hood of the Impala, talking to Bobby. When Dean came out he straightened up and asked, "Everything alright?"

Dean looked between the pair of them and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know." He spared a look over his shoulder at the door to her room before he found his eyes moving to her Pontiac. "Let's just figure out what brought me back first."


	2. 2008 September part 2

2008 – September

Part 2

Charlotte stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets as they pulled up outside of Pamela's house. She couldn't stop glancing at Dean. He was alive and she should've been ecstatic and over the moon. Should've been. Instead she found herself wishing he'd taken his damn necklace back. She wished that she'd known he was coming back then maybe those past five months could've been different, then she'd be happier.

He glanced at her and she couldn't muster much more than a half assed smile. She chalked it down to disbelief that he was alive and in one piece. When he'd kissed her back at the motel room she'd wanted to push him onto the bed and have her way with him, remember the line of his muscles and the shape of his body. But she just couldn't. As he looked away from her she felt herself relaxing knowing that he wasn't trying to figure her out, that he wasn't trying to work out what had happened to her or analyse every inch of her body.

She turned her own attention back to the door to see Pamela Barnes hug Bobby tightly. Pamela released Bobby and Charlotte offered the woman a tight smile as Pamela said, "So, these the kids?"

Charlotte's smile widened a touch at that and she dug her hands a little harder into her pockets. Her bloodied knuckles protested and she eased her grip up just enough. "Sam, Dean, Charlotte," Bobby started and gestured a hand to Pamela, "Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state."

"Hey," the three of them responded with a mixture of awkward, kind and flirtatious. Charlotte arched a brow, the corner of her mouth catching itself in the start of a smirk knowing exactly who had tried for flirty.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm," Pamela started. "Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual.

Charlotte flicked her eyes from Pamela to Dean and back, a sudden pit of discomfort growing in her stomach. She gave a small shake of her head as Dean said, "If you say so," and told herself to think nothing of it.

"Come on in."

Charlotte followed Sam inside as Pamela and Bobby started talking. She dared a glance at Dean, down his entire body and back up, reminding herself that he was alive and well. God how much she wanted to reach out and just-

"A séance, I think." She turned her back to Pamela with a frown. "See if we can see who did the deed."

Bobby spoke her worried thoughts for her, "You're not gonna summon the damn thing here are you?"

"No. I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal."

"I'm game," Dean said and Charlotte found herself frowning. Something powerful had pulled Dean from hell and Pamela wanted to look at it? She didn't like the idea of that but kept her mouth shut. They needed answers and this was better than the alternative of doing nothing.

As Bobby and Pamela went about setting the room up for the séance Charlotte stood next to Sam, her stomach twisting in knots. Something was nagging at her, as though she should know something, and it didn't sit right in her stomach. It was like a bad itch that she couldn't reach and she couldn't help but to tune out everything around her. She stared at the opposite wall, trying to pull on something that seemed stuck in her mind, but she had no idea _what_ she was supposed to be pulling at.

"… if Charlotte hadn't already claimed you."

She tuned back in then, snapping her round to see Pamela, Sam and Dean staring at her. "What?"

Pamela walked towards the table in front of them, setting the candles in her hands down. "Oh trust me honey," Pamela started, "I know a claimed ass when I see one and Dean has your name written all over it."

Charlotte glanced at Dean with an awkward smile before she shrugged a shoulder, "Some days I wonder why I bothered."

Pamela laughed and walked past them, slapping Sam's ass on the way. "But you, I can have all to myself."

Dean chuckled and Charlotte heard him whisper to Sam, "She's gonna eat you alive."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and it wasn't long before they were being invited to sit around the table that had been set up for their séance. She sat herself down between Pamela and Bobby and felt that same itch scratch at her mind. She was missing something, something important.

"Right," Pamela said, drawing Charlotte's attention to the psychic, "take each other's hands." Pamela's hand was wrapped around hers before she could help it and Charlotte gave Bobby a look before she grabbed his hand on top of the table. Pamela's other hand disappeared underneath the table and the frown that appeared on Charlotte' face was instantaneous. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched."

Something hit the table and Dean gave a small yelp. "Whoa. Well, he didn't touch me there."

Pamela turned a cheeky smile in Charlotte's direction and said, "A woman can't help herself."

Charlotte felt Dean give her a look and she shrugged her shoulder back at him. He sighed and started to take one half of his plaid shirt off. She watched him carefully before she saw what he was getting to: a burned hand print on his shoulder. "What the hell?" she muttered. She felt Sam give Bobby a look and she turned to look at the older man as well who just shrugged his shoulder.

"Okay." Charlotte did her best to settle back into her seat as Pamela encouraged Dean's free hand onto theirs and she closed her eyes once Pamela started chanting, "I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle." She blinked her eyes open on the second repeat of the line and stared at the woman unsure. Dean frowned up at her and she shared a look with him. Then his eyes were fixed on something over her shoulder and she turned her head with a frown. A TV screen was filled with static and she stared at that for several moments before she turned her frown back to Dean. She glanced at everybody else and found that they had their eyes closed.

The table started to shake and Charlotte stared at it. That gut twisting discomfort was back and she could hear something in the back of her mind that sounded like whispering.

"Castiel?" Pamela spoke. "No. Sorry Castiel I don't scare easy."

"Castiel?" Dean repeated and Charlotte whispered the name to herself with a frown.

_Close your eyes._

She snapped her head up to look at Bobby then Sam then Dean. The voice didn't belong to them and she felt panic start to rise in her chest. The table started to shake more violently as Pamela continued to try to talk to the thing, this time saying, "I conjure and command you, show me your face."

The white noise from the television started to rise and Charlotte watched as Sam and Bobby finally opened their eyes. It was the older man who said, "Maybe we should stop."

_Charlotte, close your eyes and open your mind. For Pamela's sake._

Charlotte felt her heart race and she stared at Pamela as the woman pushed forward, demanding whatever it was to show its face.

_Now._

She pinched her eyes shut, felt the table shake violently, heard the white noise drone louder and felt a sudden burst of warmth in front of her. She gasped and the muscles in her body tensed as she saw in her mind a bright light. She felt her mouth slip open as her eyes adjusted to the light and she gaped at the thing in front of her. She'd never seen such a thing like it before. It was beautiful, scary, magnificent and terrifying all at the same time. "Whoa," she whispered.

"Charlotte?" Pamela said and she could feel the woman shake her hand.

"Yeah?"

"Can you see it?" Sam asked.

She nodded and she searched the thing for a face. It was tall, really tall and it careened over her. As she craned her neck to look up she felt something click in her head. It was like something tapped against her skull, but she couldn't look away.

_Charlotte Dixon._

"Castiel," she said.

_You are a strange creature indeed._

"Thanks," she muttered and she frowned. The tapping in her head was beginning to hurt and she screwed her face up as the pain spread across her entire head.

_Only certain people can view this visage of me without burning their eyes. The true me._

"Good to know." A slight groan escaped her lips and she gritted her teeth. The tapping was now just a single long whine of pain that flared hot inside her head.

"Charlotte," Bobby said, "you okay?"

She winced and screwed her eyes up. Her head hurt, it pounded, ached, throbbed and burnt and she could feel her knees growing weak from the mental strain. Her hands tightened their holds on Bobby and Pamela and she ground out a, "I'm fine. What are you?"

_You know what I am._

Charlotte groaned, her entire body protesting whatever was going on inside of her mind and she could feel warmth begin to spread underneath her nose and over her lips. "I'm getting really tired of that answer," she muttered.

"Charlotte," Pamela said, "let go honey. Come back to us."

With her eyes still screwed shut she said, "What's going on?"

_Your mind is straining to comprehend what is going on._

"What the hell does that mean?" She groaned, her body tensing with a whimper from her mouth. Her head burnt with pain and everybody's voices were being drowned out by the white noise in her head. Her hands were hurting from the grip she was putting onto other people's hands and she felt the pain in her head reach a crescendo.

She never got a chance to hear Castiel's response as she gasped and her head fell forward to land on the table.

Dean and Sam were on their feet in an instant whilst Bobby and Pamela were pulling Charlotte's body back. There were thick lines of blood running from her nose and ears. "Grab a towel and a bowl of cold water," Pamela ordered and Bobby was the one to follow her orders. Dean and Sam worked on moving Charlotte's body to a couch and Pamela settled a hand against Charlotte's head. "She's burning up," she said with a frown.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

Pamela shook her head and looked up at the two Winchesters. "She saw it, whatever it is she saw it."

Dean turned his eyes down to Charlotte's unconscious body, "And this? Is this normal?"

Pamela shrugged her shoulders, "Some people's minds can't handle what they see."

"But _why_ did she see it?" Sam asked.

Again Pamela shrugged and Bobby entered then with a couple of towels and a bowl of cool water. "Maybe I accidentally channelled it through her. Thanks Bobby." She dipped one of the towels into the water and wrung it out before she pressed it lightly to Charlotte's head. "My other theory is that there's some sort of connection between her and this thing. Here," she held out a slightly damp towel to Dean, "make yourself useful and start cleaning."

Dean started to wipe at the blood, panic rising in his chest. Whatever this thing was it wasn't good news and he was carful with Charlotte's head as he cleaned the blood away. He'd just wiped a load of drying blood from her mouth when she started to move. "Hey," he whispered down at her as Pamela dabbed a damp towel to her head. She blinked her eyes up at him and he smiled. "Morning Princess," he said.

She groaned and brought a hand up to her face, "Don't call me Princess."

"How are you feeling honey?" Pamela asked.

Charlotte flicked her eyes back open and winced, "Get me a drink and I'll be fine." She started to push Dean and Pamela away but they just waved her arms away and helped her to sit up. "I'm good," she ground out with a wince, "I'm fine, just," she sighed and leaned back against the couch.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes still closed and shook her head carefully, "I don't know. Tell you this though I've never seen anything like it before."

"So we're back at square one?" Bobby asked.

Dean shook his head, looking up at the older man as he continued to wipe at a stain on Charlotte's neck, "We've got a name, Castiel." She batted a hand at his and grabbed the towel from his hand to wipe at her own neck, her eyes still closed.

"Charlotte," Sam started and Dean watched her blink her eyes warily open up at him, "what did it look like?"

She shrugged her shoulders again, a frown creasing her brows. "I don't know just," she shrugged again, "just big."

She closed her eyes with a wince and Dean watched that wince turn into thought. "What is it?" he asked.

Charlotte looked up at him and he watched the conflict in her eyes before she dropped her gaze, "It said I knew what it was."

"So you have seen it before?" Sam said.

"I'd remember seeing _that_ Sammy, trust me."

Another wince had her pinching her eyes shut and it was then that Pamela came to her rescue and told the others to let her rest. Dean stayed by her side on the couch as the others stepped away to talk things over. He turned to look at her and noted the concern in her face. He reached a hand out and grabbed her knee with a gentle squeeze. She looked over at him, her face tired, and he smiled and said, "You okay?"

She just stared at him for a moment, the muscles in her jaw working before she closed her eyes and sighed. She dropped the towel into her lap and slowly lifted her gaze back to him. "No," she whispered, "I'm not."

He frowned at her and shuffled closer, his hand still on her knee. "What happened? I thought Pamela was supposed to be the psychic one here."

Charlotte just shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know." She glanced at the group of three before she looked back at Dean. Her shoulder rose and fell for several seconds before she said, "It spoke to me, told me to close my eyes or Pamela would be blind." Dean recoiled slightly at that and turned to look over at the psychic in question. When he looked back at Charlotte the look of panic that covered her face had him worried.

"What's going on with you?" he whispered, pulling his hand back into his own lap.

She blinked at him and so many emotions flashed across her face before she whispered, "I wish I knew.

It wasn't long before Pamela was moving back over to them. "Right," she started, "you boys get out of here." She turned her attention to Charlotte and smiled softly down at her, "I'm gonna take care of this one."

"I'm fine," she tried and she started to get up. Her knees still weren't quite working and her head began to spin as soon as she was up. "Or not," she whispered, falling back into the couch with a sigh and her eyes closed.

Pamela turned to look at Dean and said, "She'll be fine. I'll look after her."

"Listen," Bobby said, "thanks Pamela, for everything."

Dean turned his attention to Charlotte and tried a reassuring smile. "We'll figure this out."

She nodded her head with a tight lipped smile, "Yeah. Just don't do anything stupid." He smiled and squeezed her knee again before he got up and left with the other two men. Charlotte slouched in Pamela's couch, a hand to her head. It pounded away painfully and she swore it felt as though somebody had broken something inside of her mind.

"Alright Charlotte," Pamela started and she took Dean's previous seat next to her, "let's see what's really going on shall we?"

The woman picked up Charlotte's hand and she just arched one brow at her. "What are you doing?"

Pamela smiled with a small chuckle, "Trying to help you figure out what's going on inside of your own mind sweetie. Now relax, you don't have to do anything." Charlotte sighed and just settled back into her seat. Carefully she studied Pamela's face, watching it as she frowned, her eyes slowly opening. "What do you feel guilty about Charlotte?"

Charlotte stared at the psychic and sat up a little straighter. "What?"

Pamela looked at her sadly and said, "Whatever you've done it's eating you up. Not to mention that there's something else," Pamela frowned and Charlotte felt her heart race once more, "something hidden." Pamela snapped her hand back and looked down at Charlotte's hand still outstretched in front of her. "Well you are something different."

Charlotte stared at Pamela and pulled her hand back. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet and steadied her hands on the couch arm. "No kidding," she muttered and she stumbled to the table she'd been sat at almost an hour ago.

"You already knew."

Charlotte scoffed and shook her head. "Yeah, for a while now."

"Okay, I'll bite, what are you?"

She gritted her teeth and clutched her hands tightly to one of her chairs. The pain in her head had started to ease up but it still hurt like hell. "Nephilim."

"Nephilim? I've never heard-"

"Nobody has, not until now because there's just one because my Dad-" she bit down on her tongue and on the anger that had started to rise. She closed her eyes and forced deep breaths down her throat. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "God I'm a mess," she whispered to herself.

Pamela chuckled and Charlotte almost snapped her head in her direction before she remembered the banging in her head. "Honey, nobody needs a psychic to know that. You wanna talk about it."

Charlotte scrubbed a hand over her face and felt her shoulders relax, "Not really. Not yet at least."

"Stubborn too." Pamela gave a short laugh before Charlotte felt her hand on her shoulder, "I'll get you that drink shall I?"

Charlotte smiled, "Thanks."

"Just take a seat."

Charlotte nodded and pulled out the chair in front of her. Sat down the pain started to recede and she rubbed at her temples. _You know what I am._ She sighed, trying to figure out what the voice had meant. "What?" she whispered to herself. "What are you? Why would _I _know?" She closed her eyes and started thinking about what else it had said: _Strange creature. Mind struggling to comprehend. Only certain people can see the true me. _She blinked her eyes open with a frown. "What are you?"

Pamela came back in then, a bottle of beer in her hands and Charlotte took the offered drink. "So what's going on inside your mind?"

Charlotte took a soothing sip of cool beer before she shrugged her shoulders, "Just trying to make sense of it all."

"And?"

Charlotte stared at Pamela, her own mind still working. She could see the thing but Pamela couldn't. Pamela was a psychic and she was a Nephilim. Half angel, half human. The thing was powerful and had a true form, a bright true form… bright. She'd seen one bright thing before and it was connected to the angel part of her. She frowned and took another sip of beer. But that part was supposed to be locked away…unless? Her mouth slipped open and she stared off into space. The angel part of her mind had been locked away and the thing had said that only certain people could see their true form. Pamela was a damned good psychic and yet, it had chosen her.

"Holy crap," she muttered to herself.

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte looked back at Pamela and took another sip of beer. "I gotta go."

She made a start to stand and she felt the room begin to spin. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the edge of the table. "Easy now," Pamela said, "you're still a little weak in the knees."

Charlotte shook her head and forced herself to stand up straight. She flicked her eyes open and took several deep breaths. The room started to spin less and she slowly nodded to herself. She turned back to Pamela and said, "I've gotta find them."

"So call them and rest."

Charlotte dropped a hand to her pocket with her phone when she realised that she hadn't even given anybody her new number. She sighed and mentally kicked herself before she looked back at Pamela. "I don't have their numbers." She searched through her other pockets and found her car keys. "You got a map?"

Forty minutes later and she was shakily making her way towards her car. Her head still hurt but if she knew Dean he would want to summon the damn thing. She'd used a map to find the closest place that was sheltered and away from the general population, somewhere out of the way and perfect for summoning something unknown to them.

It was dark out and her head was feeling a little better, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she wouldn't arrive in time to warn them. She'd pulled up to the road the warehouse was on and pulled her car to a quick stop. She considered going to the trunk of her car before she hesitated and stopped. With a sigh she grabbed her gun from the glove compartment and pushed it into the waistband of her jeans. It wouldn't do much good but she felt better just for having it.

She pulled open one of the doors and just stared at the artwork inside. Her eyes fell along the walls and floor in amazement. "Whoa," she whispered.

"I thought you were supposed to be resting," Bobby said.

Charlotte stepped into the warehouse then, closing the door behind her. Her eyes were still taking in the various images surrounding them as she walked towards the table set up in the middle of the room. "Did you summon it already?"

Dean and Bobby shared a look with one another and she didn't ask about Sam. "How'd you know we'd summon it?" Dean asked.

"I know you," she snapped back and she had to grit her teeth. Her head was still sensitive but at least she could walk and talk. "Did you summon-" The metal roof started to rattle and Charlotte pulled her gun out on instinct. "I'll take that as a yes," she whispered, moving to join the other two hunters.

Dean turned his head towards her, "What are you doing here?"

She stared at him and opened her mouth to answer when the lights started to explode, sparks flying everywhere. She flinched, putting an arm over her head to shield her eyes. By her sides Bobby and Dean tried to hunch themselves over and she eyed the door. It started to open and as the doors fully opened a guy in a trench coat started to walk forward. His eyes moved across the walls and she found herself frozen to the spot, staring at him.

Dean and Bobby started firing at him but she let her arm slowly drop back to her side. She could see the looks the other two hunters were giving her, but she shoved them aside. If her assumptions were true then she was pissed and she wanted somebody's head.

As the guy continued to walk towards them, unaffected by the gunshot wounds in his chest, she felt a familiar pounding start in her head. She blinked her eyes and around this guy she could see light appearing, bright light. Charlotte had to blink her eyes a couple more times but it was there and it was surrounding him. Her mouth slipped open in surprise and she felt Dean and Bobby back up as he continued to walk forward. She furrowed her brows and refused to move, her gun by her side and her eyes fixed on his.

He just stared at her and finally came to a stop in front of her. "You," she whispered.

"Charlotte," he said back, his voice low and gravelly.

The glow was still there and it was pissing her off. This entire thing was pissing her off and the cap she'd tried to put on her anger blew. He was an angel. An angel had raised Dean's ass from hell after another angel had killed her for trying to prevent that. She grabbed the front of his coat and shoved him to the nearest wall. She slammed him against it and pressed the muzzle of her gun against his chest. "Where's Zach?" she ground out in a low whisper, every drop of anger slipping into those two words.

But he wasn't fazed by her. He didn't even flinch as he kept his blue eyes fixed on her. He let the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile as he leaned his head forward and whispered unbelievably quiet, "Let go of me and I won't tell Dean about _the _Colt in the trunk of your car."


	3. 2008 September part 3

2008 – September

Part 3

Charlotte stared at Castiel, her eyes growing wide. Her body was frozen in shock. How had he known about _that?_ The corner of his mouth twitched and she just knew that that look in his eyes was smugness. But she couldn't move and the anger that had her finger on the trigger shaking couldn't be shaken away. She could feel the silence around them tense up as the seconds passed, but she couldn't even budge a muscle. Not to mention the dull thud inside of her head.

"How?" she whispered. The light banging inside of her head started to get worse and she felt a small trickle of warmth start from her nose.

His smile widened a touch but he didn't push back against her, didn't try to get out from underneath her hold. "I know things."

"Who are you?" Dean asked and Charlotte felt him step up behind her.

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder at Dean and felt her head begin to spin from that simple movement. She pinched her eyes shut and the grip she had on Castiel's coat began to slip.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

There was a hand on her shoulder and Charlotte stepped back from Castiel, her head pounding too much. "What did you do to her?" It was Dean and she felt her knees begin to shake. What was wrong with her? Her gun fell back to her side and she slowly turned her head back to Castiel. That same glow was still there, only this time it was brighter and the more she looked the more it felt as though something in her mind was breaking down. And when did the room start spinning?

She took another step back and she felt her knees give in then. She fell against Dean and he eased her to the ground, his hands underneath her. "Charlotte?" Bobby's voice said. But she couldn't see much except for the dancing black spots in her vision. What she could make out was some sort of dark shape collapse to the ground and she tried to pull herself up.

"Bobby!"

What was going on? She pinched her eyes shut and tried to move but it felt as though she was treading oil. Her limbs were heavy and her head was too sore to move.

"What did you do to them?"

"Bobby Singer? I put him asleep for the time being. He'll wake up in a while, unharmed. To Charlotte? Nothing. _That_ is her father's doing."

"Excuse me?" The pain in her head was stronger and it was only getting stronger and more painful. There was a groan on her lips and she felt Dean's hand fly to her head. "You're burning up," he muttered.

The darkness started to slip into her limbs and she felt it grow on her. Everything hurt and she couldn't even open her eyes anymore. "She'll be fine," Castiel spoke.

Even sounds were becoming murky now and she wished she could do something. She sagged in Dean's arms, the fight leaving her. "Does she look fine to you?"

Then she felt something press against her head, something cool, and the darkness took over. When she next woke up Dean was already packing up the bags and Bobby was stirring too. She wiped a hand over her face and felt nothing there. Charlotte looked up at Dean and he glanced at her a moment later. "How's your head?" he asked.

She climbed to her feet slowly and gave the room a quick once over with her eyes. "Fine. Where'd he go?"

Dean zipped up one of the bags and moved over to the next one with a shrug. "Beats me."

"Well did he say what he wanted? What he was?" Bobby said as he moved to stand next to Dean.

Charlotte eyed Dean and stared at the firm line of his jaw. He hadn't been happy with whatever conversation had gone down and she could tell that there was an argument behind his eyes. She stepped up to them, fiddling with her own gun as she spoke, "He's an Angel."

Bobby stared at her then looked back to Dean. Dean just nodded his head and said, "That's what he said."

"Told you they were real," Charlotte muttered as she subconsciously wiped at her face again.

"You knew what he was?" Bobby asked.

Charlotte shrugged and let her eyes settle on the movement of Dean's hands. "It's why I came."

"Except you blacked out again," Dean said.

She snapped her eyes up at him with a glare. "Like that's my fault."

"You blacked out again? Why?" Bobby said and she found her eyes moving to the older man with a shrug.

"Ask her Dad that," Dean said and she could tell that there was something on his mind. He just moved, packing up more bags as he went and she wondered what Castiel had said to him.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Bobby looking between them and he grabbed a couple of the already packed bags, "I'll see you two outside."

Charlotte waited until she heard the door close before she folded her arms and stared at Dean's back. He was busy working on another bag and she ground her teeth together, "What happened?"

He stopped working and she could feel how tense his shoulders were just from looking at him. He shook his head and she frowned, taking a step forward. In a quieter voice she said, "What did he say?"

"That God has a plan for me." He turned and threw his arms up. The look on his face had her wanting to reach out to him. It was no secret that Dean Winchester was not a believer and it was in this moment that Charlotte could see the conflict in his eyes. This was a shake up for Dean, for his beliefs and a sign that he had to change his entire way of thinking. But it was something more, something was eating at him and causing the deep frown on his face. "Why me?"

"Dean," she started, dropping her arms to her sides and taking another step towards him.

His mouth was screwed up into a mix of a glare and a frown as he shook his head. "Why, when I was begging somebody, did they leave you in the hospital bed huh? And why now? After all this time why now? What's so special about me?"

"Dean," she said a little more firmly.

He shook his head again, "Cas said that your Dad did something to you, blocked something off in your mind and that something had caused it to start breaking." She closed her mouth and stared at him. "So I asked him to fix it, to fix you. 'I can't' he said. It's against some stupid rule or order that he's following." Charlotte felt her mouth run dry at that. Two months ago flashed in her mind and she forced that memory away to listen to Dean, to try to think of a way to help him deal with whatever was going through his mind. He stared at her for a little longer before he said quietly, "Why me?"

Charlotte took the three short steps between them and stopped in front of him. She let a smile play on her lips as she looked at him silently, still trying to sort through what he'd told her and what she could say. At least there were a couple of things Castiel had kept quiet about. She could deal with those later. She took his hands in hers and fixed her gaze on them. The same feeling from before returned and she wanted to pull away, wanted to take four steps back and tell him something snarky from a distance.

Guilt.

Guilt ran through her and she took a deep breath before she turned her gaze up to him. "Because you're a good man who's been dealt a bad hand at life." She widened her smile and forced herself to squeeze his fingers slightly, "Because Angels are dicks and because you have nothing but good intentions at heart. Dean Winchester, you are a good man at heart and the world is a little short on good men."

Dean's mouth flickered up for a moment before he said, "You write that before or did you make that up just for me?"

She grinned with a laugh and threw a light punch to his arm, "Fuck you."

"If you want."

She shook her head and settled her hands on his waist, "It's true." She watched Dean swallow and felt him reciprocate her small touches, his hands on her hips. "You are a good man, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

His eyes didn't show the smile he wore and he tugged gently on her, pulling her flush against his chest in a gentle hug. Her heart raced as she stood there, giving Dean what he needed, but she didn't dare to move away. She wanted this just as much as he did, but she didn't deserve it. Charlotte sighed into his chest and closed her eyes, telling herself that she was allowed five minutes of happiness with Dean.

They didn't move for several minutes and Charlotte could almost pretend that the past five months hadn't happened. Dean's arms moved up to wrap around her shoulders and she felt him press his cheek against hers with a smile. She returned the touch and tried to keep her heart steady and her thoughts at bay. She wanted to enjoy this without any interruptions.

But the world hated them when the line _'Lonely is the night, when you find yourself alone,'_ blurted from her phone. She blinked her eyes open with a silent sigh as she felt Dean move against her. "Who's that?"

"An acquaintance," she muttered before she pulled just far enough away to pull her phone out and send the call to voice mail.

"What's with the song?"

She looked back at Dean with a shrug, "Their choice."

A look crossed Dean's eyes as the phone started to ring out the same line from Billy Squier and Dean pulled completely away. "You should get that," he muttered and he turned his back on her to grab one of the bags Bobby had yet to take out.

Charlotte watched him go, somewhat relieved, and took a large breath before she looked at the screen. _C_ was all that was shown as a name and she stared at the phone, at the door Dean had just left through and sighed before she answered it, "This better be good."

"Next time don't leave me waiting," a familiar male British accent said down the phone, his tone less than pleased. "Unless that's what you're into."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the final bag from the room, "What do you want?"

"How's Dean?"

She stopped in her tracks and glared into the wall. "If you've got somebody followi-"

"No need. I know exactly where you are and rumours spread fast."

"I turned the GPS off. Nice try dick."

"Charlotte, we had an arrangement and I'd hate for the return of your boy toy to mess that up."

She shook her head and started towards the door, "And I'll live up to my end. Tell me again how you don't have the balls to pull this off on your own?"

"I have the balls sweetheart, but surprise is what I have you for."

She rolled her eyes and nudged the door open. Dean and Bobby gave her a look and she quickly said, "Whatever. I'll call you when I know more." She ended the call and pocketed her phone as she held out the bag to the two men. "What?"

Dean took the bag from her and said, "What was that about?"

"Just some stuff a friend wanted me to look into." As she watched Dean's face take in the obvious lie she felt that familiar pit of guilt work itself up in her stomach. She hated herself for how easy she found it to lie, but this was something she couldn't talk about, not yet. "We gonna talk about this with Sam or leave him in the dark? Why isn't he here anyway?"

Bobby gave Dean a look before the younger man just closed the trunk of Bobby's car. "We're gonna meet him at Bobby's."

That made her feel a little better, at least she wasn't the only one lying. She nodded her head with a cluck of her tongue and started towards her own car, "Alright. I'll follow behind you." As she made her way to her own car and sat down in the driver's seat she found herself wondering how long she could go on with lying before Dean pulled her up on it. She started the engine and told herself that she would deal with that when the time came, just as she would deal with everything else.


	4. 2008 September part 4

2008 – September

Part 4

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte had left the three men inside whilst she went out back. Her head was still sore and it almost felt as though she was light headed. _God what is going on?_ She rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes and frowned at the open trunk of her car. It was as messy as ever, clothes, guns, food wrappers and a couple of books decorating it. She moved her hand through the mess and lifted up the false bottom to show her array of hunting gear. Before she let her hand wonder any further she eyed the back door. Three seconds passed before she moved her hand to the assortment of screwed up rags in one corner. From underneath it she pulled out the Colt and held it in both hands. Her eyes travelled to the back door once more before she turned her attention to the gun with a sigh.

One bullet was all she had and it annoyed her. As she continued to let her fingers trail over the weapon, the 'kill any monster' weapon, she furrowed her brows and pressed her knees against the car. She closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn't right. Things were a mess and if she kept her mouth shut they would only get messier. The Colt was just one thing on a list of many that she wanted to forget or wished she could erase.

On top of that she had trouble looking Dean, Sam or Bobby in the eyes. Even just being in the room with them as they discussed Angel lore was testing and she'd retreated out here. She lifted her eyes and looked around the salvage yard, a fond smile coming over her face. It had been almost five months since she'd seen this place and it didn't seem to have changed much.

A figure in the doorway attracted her attention and she smiled unconsciously at Sam. He waved and quickly she worked on stuffing the Colt back where she'd pulled it from. By the time the taller Winchester had reached her car she'd been able to make it look as though she was sorting out the mess of weapons in her trunk. She liked the mess, grew up messy, so sue her.

"Hey," he said.

She looked up at him and smiled tightly, "Hi. How's it going in there?" She carefully settled the false bottom back across her weapons and let her eyes take in the mess of her trunk. In all honesty she really needed to clean that up.

Sam leaned against the side of her car with his hip and said, "Oh you know, Dean still trying to pretend Angels aren't real."

Charlotte laughed once and lifted her brows, "Of course he is." She leaned forward and started moving stuff around to try to tidy her car up. A lot of it needed to go straight into a bin but for now, she could make it _look_ better. After a moment she glanced up at Sam to see him looking at her with a weird look on his face. "What?"

He folded his arms over his chest, stood up straight and looked down at her with concern in his eyes, "Are _you_ okay?"

She frowned at him and shrugged her shoulders, "Why wouldn't I be?"

In that moment she felt the full force of a Sam Winchester bitch face and she felt her mouth run dry. "They might not want to say anything or they might not even notice, but I know you. At least I thought I knew you." She stared at him, the muscles in her jaw working. She'd hoped that she could go a few more hours before somebody said something, and if it had been anybody she had expected Bobby to say something. "When we knocked on I was expecting you to either punch Dean or kiss him." He gave a short laugh and she managed a single laugh before she watched his face drop. "You've changed."

She nodded her head at him and stuffed her hands into her jeans pockets, "So have you."

He smiled tightly and she watched as it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Did something happen?"

Charlotte sighed, closed the trunk and perched herself on it. Sam stood next to her, his hands pressed into the cool metal. "A lot of things happened Sam."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Aww Sammy," she said, turning a sarcastic smile up to him, "you're just a cuddly teddy bear aren't you?"

He smiled at that, "Shut up."

She ducked her eyes and let the smile slowly wither from her face with another sigh. She glanced at his hands on the edge of her vision and bit down on the inside of her bottom lip. "Sam," she started slowly, still trying to talk herself out of the words that were forming on her tongue. As much as she wanted to keep things quiet and to herself, she knew that it would eat her up, more than it was already doing. Charlotte lifted her eyes to the taller man and subconsciously licked her lips. _If anybody would understand it would be him_. "You ever do something," she started again in a low voice, "something, _stupid_, something that might come back to bite you in the ass out of desperation." She watched him straighten up, his arms folded over his chest as he nodded his head once, his eyes fixed on her. "You ever do something because," she stalled, shaking her head slightly as she looked over his shoulder at a tree, "you know it's the _right_ thing to do but it's under the wrong circumstances?"

Sam stared at her, his brows furrowed, and Charlotte felt her heart start to race. There was every chance that this conversation was going to blow up in her face but she knew that Sam would be the only one to understand.

Eventually he nodded, his expression softening. "Yeah, I do." She tilted her head back and examined Sam's face before she nodded. "If it's with good intentions," he shrugged his shoulders and she felt the corners of her mouth twitching up, "and it's to help people, then I don't have a problem with it."

Somehow that didn't make her feel better but she kept her smile in place as she slid off the trunk of her car and settled her hand on his arm. She gave it a small squeeze and said, "Thanks."

"Oh," he said as she started back towards the house, "you want anything? I'm going into town to grab some food do you want something?"

Charlotte felt her phone bus and when she saw the name _'C'_ she frowned and quickly read the address: _Livingston, Montana_. "No," she said to Sam as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She gave Sam a tiny smile and said, "I'm good."

Sam frowned at her as he fell in step next to her, "You're not going to answer that?"

She shrugged her shoulders, trying to ignore the urge to grab her keys and go to that address, "It's not important." She rubbed vaguely at the side of her head as she felt the ache begin to subside into nothing but a quiet whisper. Inside the house she found Dean sat at the couch in the living room, book in hand, and Bobby in the kitchen by the phones. Dean lifted his eyes to look at her and she gave him a small smile. Sam took the keys Dean held out and she moved to grab one of the books on Bobby's desk before she took the empty seat next to him as Sam left.

Dean side glanced at her and she raised her brows at him as she skimmed through the pages of the book with her eyes. "Yes Dean?"

He settled the book in his lap and turned his full attention to her, "What happened?"

She lifted her eyes from the book to look at him, "What?"

He grabbed her hand in his and brushed his thumb over her still red knuckles with raised brows. "What happened?"

Her eyes fell to their hands and she enjoyed the extra warmth he provided. It would've been easy for her to turn her hand over and thread her fingers through his and squeeze. The corners of her mouth twitched as she recalled _exactly_ what had happened. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't a story she wanted to retell anytime soon. Slowly she lifted her gaze to his face and found him examining her, waiting. She swallowed and dropped her eyes again, "Just a bad hunt."

His thumb stilled and she mentally kicked herself. "Charlotte."

She dragged her eyes up to him, silently pleading him to just drop it. "What?"

Dean stared at her for several moments and she watched his green eyes move across her face before he pulled his head back slightly, brows furrowed, and squeezed her hand slightly. He opened his mouth and shook his head slowly, "Just talk to me. Anything."

Charlotte let her eyes fall back to their hands and she let her eyes trail over every single shape of his hand. She swallowed, trying to think and trying to come up with something. Slowly she turned her hand over and slid her fingers in the spaces between his. He moved and curled his hand around hers with a gentle squeeze. She smiled. Things used to be simple. Now? She sighed and closed the book with her other hand, her eyes still fixed on their linked hands. After several seconds of silence she lifted her eyes back up to Dean and wished that somewhere along the way they'd drawn a line at what they had because right now she wished she could walk away from him. "Dean," she started slowly and she watched him tilt his head back with every sign that he was waiting and listening carefully. She clamped her mouth shut, squeezed his hand and took a deep shaky breath. "Honestly?"

He frowned at her slightly, studied her for a moment and nodded. "Honesty would be nice."

She nodded with a slight flicker to her lips and watched his face as she worked up the right combination of words in her mind. She pulled her hand away and turned her face away from him. Several times she opened her mouth, trying to get the words out, and each time she wanted to say the same six words, _You deserve somebody better than me_. She bit down on her bottom lip, shook her head and forced out the words, "I'm a mess."

"Who isn't?"

"Dean," she said snapping her head up to him. He clamped his mouth shut and she stared at him for several seconds before she sighed, "I'm a mess okay? I am nothing but a mess." She could feel those words fighting to come up again and she squashed them down with a shake of her head. In a whisper she said, "I've done things I'm not proud of. Things I don't want to remember." She turned away from him and ducked her head, "My head is all over the place and with you suddenly being alive," another smile flickered briefly onto her lips, "god," she looked back up at him with a wry smile, "you make me want to go running for the hills." His brows knitted into confusion and she shook her head as she carried on. "You just got back from hell and there is no way that you deserve whatever is going on with me." She couldn't look at him anymore and she felt her heart racing as she bit her lip. There was a whole backlog of words that still clawed for fresh air, but she held them in as she waited.

"Charlotte," Dean said eventually. "Look at me," he whispered. She did, reluctantly. He forced a smile onto his face and she watched him lift an arm and cup her face with his hand. "I don't care." There was a strange look in his eyes that had her frowning at him. "I don't care if you're a mess," he shrugged a shoulder and shuffled closer to her, "cause I am too."

She lifted a hand to pull his away, "Dean?"

He smiled tightly at her before he leaned forward and kissed her softly. It was gentle and tender and everything they weren't. She closed her eyes and responded by grabbing a hold of his wrist with a sigh. When they parted he pressed his head to hers with a grimace and she watched his face. He didn't look at her and his eyes were still closed as he gripped her shoulder with his other hand. "I'm a mess too," he whispered, "I remember hell." She stared at him, her eyes wide. He blinked his eyes open then and she watched him stare at her, something close to guilty sadness in his eyes, "I remember every bit of it."


	5. 2008 September part 5

2008 – September

Part 5

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

"What?" Charlotte said as she moved her head back a few inches.

Dean's mouth parted slightly and he tilted his head back. He stroked a thumb over her cheek and let his eyes follow its movements. "I remember every second of hell." He paused and licked his lips before he pulled his hands back into his lap. When he next spoke it was in a whisper, "What happened to me, what I did."

He flicked his gaze back up to her and found her staring, eyes still wide and her brows knitted slightly. He waited, knowing that she had something on her tongue. After a moment she shook her head. "Dean," she started and he watched her mouth fail to say anything else before she looked away from him. He wished he could read the mixture of expressions on her face and understand what they meant. "That's different," she whispered.

He frowned and tried to open his mouth to rebuke her when Bobby stepped in front of them. Dean turned his attention to the older man as he started to speak, "Pack your bags. Olivia Lowry's not picking up."

Dean stood, abandoning the book in his lap. "That's unusual?"

"After three days? Yeah."

'_Lonely is the night' _Dean turned his attention to Charlotte who sighed and dug out her phone from her pocket. She took a step away from them and answered with a snap, "What?"

Dean glanced at Bobby and caught him sharing a similar look. "Got me," Dean muttered. Charlotte took another step and lowered her voice.

Bobby nudged Dean's arm and nodded to the room, "Get your stuff." Dean nodded and tried to ignore Charlotte as she held a quiet conversation in the middle of the room, her back to the other two hunters.

By the time he and Bobby had gathered supplies ready and packed Charlotte had ended her call and turned to face them. "I gotta go," she said, stuffing her phone into her pocket.

Dean stared at her. He glanced at Bobby and waited for him to speak. "What about Olivia?"

Charlotte looked at him, the corners of her mouth pulled tight, "There's three of you going to check it out when Sam gets back. I've got something to check out in the next town."

"Your acquaintance?" Dean asked, his tone indicating that he was far from happy with that idea.

She stared at him and took a moment to nod. "Yeah."

"Who's your _acquaintance_?" Bobby asked, a bag thrown over his shoulder.

She shrugged a shoulder and pulled a set of keys from her pocket, "Just some guy. I should be back in a couple of hours." Charlotte didn't give them the chance to ask anything else before she grabbed her jacket and moved towards the back door. Bobby gave Dean another look before he followed after her and Dean pulled the last bag along with him. Outside he watched her door shut and her car drive off with a tiny wave at them before she disappeared.

Dean stared after her for a moment, brows drawn into a frown. "You know about any new friends?" he asked Bobby.

Bobby shook his head, "Got me." The sound of the Impala could be heard and the older man glanced up to see Sam come back round. "She hasn't said much of nothing for months." He moved to the window of the Impala and Dean threw the bag into the trunk of Bobby's car, his frown still in place.

Just under an hour later and Charlotte pulled into the car park of a diner in Brookings. She cut the engine and stared at the door, hating herself for ditching everybody in the middle of something that was anything but good news. With a sigh she reached for her phone and cycled through the contacts. After a few moments of staring at the screen she groaned and ran a hand over her face. "What am I doing?" she muttered to herself before she climbed out of her car and slammed the door shut. She winced and eyed the dents that decorated her car. Another sigh slipped past her lips and she trailed a hand over one of the hollows on the hood.

With a large exhale of breath she pulled her hand away, quickly grabbed the Colt from her trunk, and entered the diner. It didn't take her long to locate her 'acquaintance' and she slipped into the same booth as him. She settled the gun on the edge of her lap, barrel pointed at him, as she said, "Talk."

He raised his brows at her and sipped from the coffee cup in front of him. "Still don't trust me Charlotte?"

"No."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Hunters."

"Crowley," she said, "talk."

"How many hunters have you spoken to recently?" She frowned and Crowley only raised his brows knowingly. "Lilith's broken another seal, the rise of the witnesses."

After a few seconds she shrugged her shoulders, "Please, don't elaborate."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit anybody darling." Charlotte just tapped the gun against the bottom of the table. Crowley didn't seem fazed as he carried on. "If you'd gone to Montana you could've been there and back and a lot of hunters would still be alive."

"Don't try and guilt me into this you dick."

"Well I'm sorry that one of us hasn't forgotten what's at stake if you don't do this before-"

"Yeah well at least one of us isn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty."

Crowley stared at her, his mouth hung open in a glare before he closed it and let a fake smile cross his lips. "It's about the bigger picture. One of us needs to think big whilst the other takes care of an obstacle or two."

Charlotte leaned back in her seat and felt her phone buzz. She gave Crowley a look before she pulled it out and answered it to Bobby's name. "Yeah?"

"Olivia's dead. I called around and there's a few hunters I can't get a hold of. You and your buddy finished so you can give us a hand?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up and stuffed the gun back into the belt of her jeans. "So, Witnesses, what is that?"

"Lilith's raised those that hunters failed to rescue from the supernatural."

"Can we stop them?"

Crowley nodded. "There's a spell." He slipped a hand into his jacket and Charlotte tilted her head back, her eyes narrowed cautiously. He only smirked at her as he pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to her. She stretched a hand out and made a start to grab it. He twisted his hand and pulled it just out of reach, "You are keeping us a secret right?"

Charlotte grinned and leaned forward, folding her arms on top of the table. "Tell me Crowley, what happens _if_ Lilith happens to find out what you're doing?"

He stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed, before he looked at her innocently. "_If_ she finds out, I'll be sure to drag you with me," his voice lowered into a whisper, "and you will not be able to beg enough for me to stop torturing you alive _and_ when your pathetic soul is in hell, I'll be there too."

Charlotte held his gaze for several seconds before she lifted an arm. She smiled and said, "Such a romantic."

"Mmm," Crowley said, "you bring out the best in me." He winked and held the folded paper back out to her. She snatched it from his hand and began to move back in her seat. Crowley grabbed her arm before she could move it away. "And the _sooner_ you do what we agreed, the better."

She smiled tightly at him and leaned forward again, "I already said I'll do it. Breathe down my neck and I'm inclined not too."

Crowley let go and held a hand up, "Just looking out for _our _best interest."

She shook her head as she moved out of the booth. "Go to hell Crowley."

"I'll see you there."

An hour later and Charlotte brought her Pontiac to a stop outside of Bobby's house. Before she'd started the drive back she'd glanced at the paper and discovered that she needed ingredients. She was certain Bobby had them, but it was just a case of _where_. She sighed, gripped the paper in her hands and made sure the Colt was back in the trunk of her car before she picked up a rock salt shotgun and started into the house.

It was quiet. "Hello?" When she received no answer she frowned and took cautious steps through the rooms, gun raised. "Bobby? Dean? Sam? Hello?"

"Hello Charlotte." She turned and came face to face with the ghost of a guy in his late teens. His skin was pale and he looked at her with something close to malice in his eyes. "You left me for bait for those vampires."

She shrugged shoulder, "You got yourself into that mess," before she fired off a shot and moved to the kitchen, a hand rooting through the cupboards as she kept a hand on the gun. "Salt, salt, salt, come on, come on." The doors to the kitchen slammed shut behind her and she raised her gun. It was wrenched out of her hand and thrown across the room. The kitchen table moved and pinned her legs against the counter. She yelled out in pain and tried to push it away without prevail.

The guy reappeared next to her and he pressed his hands onto the table top to lean over to her. "You let me die. You told me I would fine knowing that I was a dead man."

"You're the idiot that got yourself in that mess in the first place."

"You could have saved me!" His hand sunk into her chest and burning pain flared in her chest. She screamed and felt her breathing begin to stop as her heartbeat began to slow. She groaned in pain and tried to find something, anything made of iron or salt to help her. There was nothing and she could feel the start of her ribs beginning to crack. She groaned and tried to push the table away. Her eyes widened as she felt something tug on her heart.

Then there was the sound of a gun and she collapsed onto the table, coughing and spluttering for deep breaths of oxygen. Sam was by her side, easing her out from the table, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she wheezed out and she grabbed his shoulder to steady herself. She looked up to see the doors wide open. But she couldn't see anybody else. "Dean and Bobby?"

"Dean's upstairs. I'm still looking for Bobby."

She nodded and rubbed a hand over her chest. "Go." When he just looked her over again she pushed his shoulder. "Find Bobby. I'll be fine." He left then and she scoured the floor with her eyes and found her gun and piece of paper. She grabbed them and opened up the paper. "Open fire, ingredients, spell, got it."

She scrambled through the drawers, looking in all of the places she knew Bobby kept ingredients. She had three bottles lined up on the counter when she felt a chill in the air. She grabbed her gun, turned and fired, causing the spirit to disappear. Charlotte grabbed the three ingredients and moved into the library, eyes scanning the shelves for more. "Come on, come on, come on." She had more ingredients lined up but she was still missing a few and she groaned. There was another chill and she held her gun in one hand, spun and fired. She dropped the ingredients onto the table and spread out the piece of paper, mentally checking off what she had. "I'm missing something," she whispered and she heard feet coming down the stairs. She held her gun up and aimed, ready. Dean appeared and she sighed, letting her gun rest on the table. "You good?"

He nodded, but his expression wasn't kind. "So how important was this meeting with your friend?"

She stared at him, her face deadpan. "I can put a stop to whatever's going on. That good?"

He frowned and came to stand next to her at the desk. His eyes fell over the piece of paper and he pointed at it, "They gave you this?"

"Yeah. Nobody has quite the inventory list that Bobby does. I still need to grab a few things." Another ghost appeared and Dean grabbed Charlotte's shotgun to fire at it.

"So what are we dealing with?"

Charlotte sighed and looked up from her bent position over a large wooden bowl. "Rise of the Witnesses. It's a sign that somebody's trying to start the apocalypse."

"_The _apocalypse?"

"No the other one," she drawled before she started mixing a few things together. There were a couple of voices and both of them lifted their heads to see Sam and Bobby walk into the room. "You two alright?"

Sam nodded and he frowned as he watched her hands moving. "What are you doing?"

"A spell, save our asses and everybody else's."

Bobby moved around everyone to look over her shoulder. "Where did you get this?"

She glanced at him and licked her lips before she spoke, "A friend who didn't have the ingredients. Still missing a few."

Bobby grabbed the paper and flicked his gaze between the table and ingredients. "I got those upstairs in the red hex box. Sam, with me."

The two men disappeared and Dean turned his attention to Charlotte. "So you disappear for a few hours come back and now you know what we're dealing with and _how _to deal with it?" She glanced at him as she mixed in a few more ingredients, her mouth whispering the start of the spell. "Who's your friend?"

"Not a friend."

"Okay, buddy."

"Not a buddy."

"I don't care what he _isn't_. Who is he?"

She flicked her gaze to him and swallowed, "Dean, now is not the time."

"I just want to know who he is and how you two met?"

"I met people when you died Dean. The world moved on, it didn't stop moving just because you did. So I met people and I talked to them. Some of them I keep in contact with. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Dean stared at her and Charlotte mentally kicked herself. She sighed and wiped a hand over her face, "I'm sorry." She shook her head, "I'm sorry I just," she pressed her palm to her head for a moment. When she pulled it away she looked at him with guilty eyes, "We met in a bar. We drank, we talked, we parted ways."

Dean frowned at her and nodded his head slowly. Another Witness appeared and he fired off another shot. "And you two keep in contact?"

She rolled her eyes and focused back on the spell. "We're not hooking up if that's what you're talking about." She side glanced him and let the corners of her mouth twitch into a smirk, "You're bad for women Dean."

He raised his brows at that and tilted his head to look at her. "How's that?"

"You give her high expectations."

He studied her face for a moment before he grinned, "Not many men know how to completely satisfy a woman."

Bobby and Sam came back down the stairs, Sam firing off a round behind them as Bobby sat the hex box on the table. He started pulling out jars and setting them down. Charlotte worked on opening them and adding them to the spell as she continued to recite the words written down.

Sam gave a yell of pain and three pairs of eyes snapped up to see Victor Henrikson with his hand in Sam's chest. Bobby took a step to one side and Dean raised his gun to fire. The gun clicked and he turned his eyes towards the room. Bobby was already moving, bringing up his iron bar and swinging it through the Witness. Sam stumbled and moved into the library to join everybody else. Dean grabbed his own iron bar from the fireplace and held it out as a weapon as he stood by Charlotte's side, "How much longer?"

Charlotte lifted her eyes to the room and watched a collection of people appear and disappear. "A minute."

Meg appeared after a desk slammed into Sam and pinned him to the wall to Charlotte's right. She glanced at him and tried to resist the urge to help him as she added another ingredient, her mouth working quickly over the words on the page. Bobby moved to Sam's side and took a swing at Meg. She disappeared and Sam pushed the desk away only to have a pair of twin girls push it back against him. Bobby was thrown to the floor and Dean made a start to help them.

Charlotte added one last ingredient and finished off the spell. She felt another hand grip her heart and she grabbed the edge of the desk with a groan. Out of the corner of her eyes she watched Dean turn and she inched a hand towards the bowl. "Fireplace," she ground out, feeling something twist inside her chest as her knees started to give out. She felt the hand inside of her body begin to pull, but her eyes were focused on the hand that appeared and grabbed the bowl.

A moment later and she sagged against the desk, her knees hitting the floor as she panted, her eyes closed.

"Everybody okay?" Dean asked. A series of agreements sounded about the room before people started to relax and just rest.

A few hours later, after cleaning up the messes in the house, Dean found himself leaning against the door that led to the salvage yard. Charlotte was leaning over her car, the hood popped up and a hammer in her hands. He watched her lightly tap at the underside of the hood for a minute before he moved into the kitchen, grabbed two beers and moved to stand on one side of the hood. She looked up at him with a tight smile and he offered her one of the bottles. "Thanks," she muttered.

He nodded, "No problem." He let his eyes take in her car and internally he winced.

"We need to talk don't we?" Charlotte muttered, the hammer resting against the cars battery.

Dean tilted his head back slightly and stuffed one hand into the pockets of his jeans. "Depends, what do we need to talk about?"

She stared at him, one brow raised and sighed before she grabbed the hammer, closed the hood of her car and sat herself on top of it. After a moment she patted the space next to her and Dean shuffled into the space. The silence wasn't so bad and Dean allowed himself to relax against the windscreen, a sigh in his breaths. "Us," Charlotte said after a few moments. Dean flicked his eyes down to his lap before he looked back up at her. Her attention was fixed on her bottle and she sighed, finally lifting her eyes to look at him. "Can we start over?"

He couldn't help his smile and he let his eyes examine her face. But his smile didn't last long and he turned away from her. He lifted one knee up and settled an arm onto it. "How? You're ready to bite my head off at any given moment. You've got this mysterious guy who keeps calling you. And you say you've done stuff."

"What's new?"

He glanced up at her with the start of a grin and subconsciously licked his lips. "True. You were always a bitch."

"Still am." Silence settled itself between them like a third party member and they both sat and sipped beer. Charlotte was the one who broke the quiet, "But you remember hell." He lifted his eyes up to her and watched her. "What do you say? We either talk or we live and let be?" After a moment she shrugged her shoulder and slowly shook her head, "I don't care what you did. I'm just glad you're here in one piece."

"Even if _God_ has a plan?"

Charlotte grinned. "We can tell God to suck it if you want."

Dean chuckled. "Together?"

She nodded. "If you want."

Dean studied her for a moment longer before he shuffled close to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He placed a kiss to her temple and whispered, "Together."

That night Sam took Charlotte's bed as she and Dean slept on the floor downstairs. She had refused to take it on the grounds it didn't feel right. Bobby had held his hands up and gone to bed. Dean didn't know when it had happened, but he'd woken up to find Castiel in the kitchen of the Singer household, leaning back against the counter. He quickly glanced down at Charlotte curled up on her side towards him, a frown on her face, before he climbed to his feet and stepped into the kitchen.

"Good to see you're in one piece," Castiel commented.

Dean stared at him with a frown, "Oh, so you knew about this? About the Witnesses? You know you could've helped."

"We had larger concerns Dean. And you took care of it."

"Yeah, thanks to Charlotte and her buddy."

Castiel tilted his head to one side and examined Dean's face with a tight smile. He nodded, "Her friend, yes." His eyes moved past Dean and the hunter followed the Angel's gaze to find him looking at Charlotte. "She has good intentions."

Dean frowned and blocked off Castiel's view. "Do you know something?"

Castiel lifted his chin and looked back up at Dean. "The rising of the witnesses is one of the 66 seals which are being broken by Lilith."

Dean blinked for a moment before he started to talk, "She did the spell. She rose the witnesses."

Castiel nodded. "Mm-hmm. And not just here. 20 other hunters are dead."

Dean shook his head and ran a hand over his face, "Of course, pick the people we failed to save and they'd barrel straight through us."

"Lilith has a sense of humour."

"But we put those spirits to rest."

Castiel shook his head, "It doesn't matter. The seal was still broken."

Dean frowned, his hands on his hips, "But why break it anyway?"

Castiel pushed himself from the counter to stand to his full height a few inches shorter than Dean. "Think of the seals as locks to a door. When, _if,_ the last one breaks Lucifer walks free."

"If? So there's a chance to stop it."

Castiel nodded. "If we can stop enough seals from breaking we have a chance."

Dean raised his brows. "What's the 'but'?" Castiel sighed and took a step towards the living room. Dean watched his eyes move over Charlotte again and he stepped into Castiel's line of sight. "What is with you two?"

Castiel turned to face Dean and took a step towards him, his eyes narrowed. "She is an abomination by Heaven's standards. Unclean because of who her father is and of all the people in the world who she had to fall for, who had to fall for her, it was you," Castiel narrowed his eyes even further and whispered, "the one chosen to prevent the apocalypse. So you can understand my…_concern_."

Dean frowned back at him and stood his back, "Well maybe you should be more concerned about doing what you're supposed to be doing and stopping these seals from breaking."

"We tried. And there are other battles, other seals. Some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one we lost. Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around?" Castiel took another step towards Dean and the hunter felt himself begin to grow a little nervous at the threatening voice Castiel's voice took on. "There's a bigger picture here. You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in."

Dean gulped and took a step back. A moment later Castiel vanished and Dean stared at the space he'd been standing in, his mind still taking in what had been said.


	6. 2008 October

**A/N:** Guess who's an idiot? That would be me. God damn it. Okay, THIS is the next chapter. (I accidentally skipped four chapters so some of you have seen what comes later. Oops. Again, I'm an idiot. Enjoy.

2008 – October

_Idaho – Marsing_

Sam took a moment to turn his attention away from his laptop towards the motel room and its other two occupants. For the first time in a long while all three of them, him, Dean and Charlotte, were quiet as they did their own thing. Dean was engrossed in some sort of magazine, Sam was afraid to know what _kind_ of magazine, his back to the headboard and his ankles crossed in front of him, whilst Charlotte was spread across the other bed on her stomach, fisted hands stacked on top of each other with her chin on top, a book open in front of her.

They'd just finished a case, a series of missing people that had been disappearing once a month to never reappear. Sam scratched absently at the series of scratches that covered one of his arms and glanced up to the other two. Dean had a nice black eye, cut lip and cheek to join it whilst Charlotte had a bandage around her left bicep to cover the stab wound there. There were a few more injuries less visible, bruises, scratches, bruised ribs, but Sam had been thankful that the _humans_ were dumb enough to leave them alone in a room together.

But Sam's eyes weren't travelling over the wounds on the other two people, but their body positions. He knew that something wasn't right with Charlotte, hadn't been right since Dean got back from hell, but now? Even Dean was being a little weird around the woman and after being cooped up with them for four days straight, Sam was getting ready to grab the keys to the room, leave and lock the door behind him. They'd barely checked up on each other once bandages had been issued and wounds had been cleaned, barely even looked at one another or spoken to them.

The silence was getting to Sam.

They were never silent.

He made a point of sighing and closing his laptop, his gaze on the other two hunters in the corner of his vision. Charlotte turned her head to glance at him before she went back to her book whilst Dean just lifted his eyes for a brief few seconds. "Bored Sammy?"

"Take the down time," Charlotte chimed in, moving one hand to turn the page in her book and crease it down hard. She didn't look at him as she said, "You could always try watching porn. We're all adults here."

Sam stared at her with his best bitch face and glared when she didn't even look at him for a response. Some days he wondered who was worse, her or Dean.

Dean snickered, "I'm sure they've got Casa Erotica somewhere on there," he gestured vaguely to the tiny TV in the room.

"Unlike you two I don't think of porn as a group experience."

"You're missing out," Charlotte muttered and Sam frowned at her, his eyes growing wide as she carried on, "it really adds to the experience."

Sam screwed his face up and stood up from his seat, ignoring the chuckle that started in his brother's chest. "I did not need to know that."

"Go out," she carried on, seemingly unfazed by his comment, "find a girl, go back to her place, or come here, we can scram, stick some porn on and go wild. Trust me."

"You know what," Sam said as he grabbed his jacket and a key to the room, "I'm going to go grab us some food." He pointed a finger to Charlotte, then to Dean, "Don't, don't, do- please, just don't," he couldn't even get the words out.

Dean was the first to finally look up at him, "We'll put a sock on the door if we do."

Charlotte chuckled and Sam just pinched his eyes shut with a look of disgust. "I hate you both," he muttered before he grabbed the keys to the Impala and left.

Dean let his smile stay in place as he watched the door close and slowly turned his attention to Charlotte. She twisted her head over her shoulder to look at him, a grin on her face, "Porn?"

He laughed and eyed the door. "Put it on for when he gets back."

"Nice," she muttered before she stretched over to the bottom of his bed and grabbed the remote. A few seconds later and she was flicking through the channels until Casa Erotica 6 started playing.

Dean quickly flicked his eyes to the screen to watch what was happening for a few seconds before he glanced back to his magazine. The sounds however attracted his gaze every few seconds and he found himself moving his eyes between the TV and his magazine, trying hard to focus on both of them at the same time.

"You know," Charlotte's voice started and Dean quickly flicked his attention from the screen to her, trying his hardest to not get too attracted to what was happening, which was _something _he really wanted to watch. "I think we need to find Sam a girl."

Dean raised his brows and nodded, "Yeah, or he just needs to get laid."

"Ever the romantic," Charlotte muttered and she rolled to one side to pull her phone out of her pocket.

Dean narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching into the start of a smile, "Let me guess, you know somebody who might be interested?"

She flicked her eyes up to him and shrugged a shoulder, "If Sam's game I'm sure she is."

Dean shrugged a shoulder and glanced back at the TV. He stared, watching, glad that he tuned back in at just the right point. He let his hands fall a few inches as he licked his lips. It was getting to the good part.

"Hey Nat, it's Charlotte." Dean glanced over at Charlotte and smiled when he noticed that her gaze was fixed on the TV and he let himself enjoy the show that was taking place. "Possibly... so I've been told. Listen, I have a proposal for you... Sam Winchester... Yes, well, if you want. You said you were-... You in Idaho? Damn. Hey Dean," he turned his head in her direction, his eyes glued to the screen, "where you guys headed after this?"

"Err..." he frowned. They hadn't really looked for anything. In all honesty Dean was just trying to forget that their last case had landed them in the laps of some very twisted humans. "I don't know."

"Thanks," she muttered and he glared at her briefly before he focused back on the TV. "How about I give Dean your number," he rose his brows at that, "and he'll send you a location when he knows where they're going. You go and do your thing."

Dean waited until she finished her conversation and hung up before he said, "I can't believe you're trying to hook my brother up with somebody."

"Shut up. He's nicer than you. He deserves _something_."

He raised his brows at that and turned his head to face her. She was focused on the TV as she dropped her phone onto the bed. "And I don't? I'm hurt."

She turned her head to let a grin shine up at him and shrugged, "You'll get over it."

He stared at her with a grin of his own. He tilted his head to one side, porn partly forgotten and licked his lips, "And what if I don't?"

She rolled to one side to lean on one elbow, a knowing look in her eyes, "Dean, we've been over this. You're a dick."

"You love it," he whispered and he winked.

"Fiend."

"Whore."

"Slut."

"Bitch."

She bit her lip then and he caught the new look in her eyes, the look he'd been wanting to see for weeks now. He held her gaze, daring her to make a move and he felt the old thrills coming back the longer they stared. The porn in the background wasn't helping either and he let his magazine drop into his lap. Charlotte tilted her head up to glance at the TV before she looked back at him. He flicked his gaze to the screen, watched the two actors still go at it and glanced back at her as she moved.

Charlotte stood up, moved to stand next to him and lifted one leg to settle her knee on one side of him. She lifted her other foot off the ground and straddled his lap, her hands on his shoulders. Dean had moved the magazine out of the way and let it drop to the floor as he grabbed her waist. He smiled warmly up at her. She grinned and he watched her eyes study his face before they fell to his lips.

He waited for her to move first. This was the most intimate they'd been since he'd gotten back from hell and he didn't want to push her away now. He simply brushed his thumb underneath the hem of her shirt and over the warm flesh of her waist, his head resting against the headboard.

Then he felt her fingers brush over his neck and he tilted his head up slightly, his eyes fixed on hers. She smiled tentatively and he went for encouraging. He felt her move, leaning forward to press her chest against his as she moved to capture his mouth in a soft, gentle caress of her lips. He closed his eyes, his hands holding still on her waist.

When she pulled away he slowly blinked his eyes open, his lips parted and he caught the look in her eyes. It was a look of somebody who wanted more, _needed_ more and god was his body begging her to keep this going.

Those few careful seconds they spent just staring at one another felt taut and as though they took too long and Dean brought a hand up to brush her hair behind her ear and cup her cheek. She leaned into the touch with a smile and Dean grinned. He felt her fingers brush through his hair and he swore it felt as though they were exploring each other for the first time all over again, only with less alcohol and with more care.

She leaned forward, one hand moving down his neck and Dean took a breath as Charlotte trailed her hand down his chest, her fingers light and teasing. He watched the corner of her mouth curl mischievously. Then she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled, jerking him forward to crash her mouth to his in a hot, needy, desperate mess.

But Dean's mouth was working against hers just as greedily and he fisted a hand in her hair to keep her pulled close to him as he worked a hand underneath her shirt. His head was jerked to one side and he gasped in surprise before he closed his eyes when her mouth teased his neck with light bites. It sent all kinds of shivers through his body and he worked on removing the layers of clothes between them.

It was messy and sloppy, quick and needy and she ended up having to hold onto the headboard with one hand whilst she clung to Dean with the other. He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her pulled flush against his chest as he worked his mouth against her lips, neck and shoulder. He let his hands explore every curve and line of her body, reminding himself of every scar or mark that he'd forgotten.

Her hand followed the hand print on his shoulder carefully and they'd paused whilst she kissed every inch of that spot, her eyes following his face with a grin. He brushed his fingers over the bandage on her arm and he smoothed his thumb over the small red dot that had started to appear. He kissed it once and wrapped his arm back around her as he brought her mouth back to his for slow, tender kisses as they worked their way towards ecstasy.

By the time Sam made it back to the motel they were dressed again and but on the same bed, Dean with magazine in hand and Charlotte sat up, legs crossed and book being paid her full attention in her own lap. The porn was still playing in the background.

"Tell me you didn't," Sam groaned when he closed the motel door, an armful of bags in his hands.

"We didn't," Dean said with a straight face, his eyes fixed to his magazine.

Sam flicked his gaze from one to the other and back again. Both of them wore poker faces and Sam was certain that he knew their tells. Charlotte's face was drawn together in concentration as she focused on her book, but there was something _off_ and Sam just couldn't place his finger on it.

In the end he settled for calling their bluff, "You guys are disgusting."

Dean broke first with a snigger, his eyes glancing up at Sam in childish glee. Sam screwed his face up at his brother as Dean said, "Human nature Sammy."


	7. 2008 October part 2

**A/N:** Hey guys I'm bringing in another character and any opinions would be appreciated. If you like her or not, let me know. Love you guys. Enjoy.

2008 – October

Part 2

_Nevada – Kingsbury_

Natalie Miller sipped on her glass of red wine. Her eyes were fixed to the screen of her phone on the bar top, waiting for the obligatory text message from Dean Winchester. She still couldn't quite shake the smile from her face. The Winchesters. She'd heard a lot about them, which Hunter hadn't? But she'd never met them. Some people wanted to kill them, some wanted to hunt alongside them, her? She just wanted to see them for herself.

And Charlotte wanted her to try it on with Sam Winchester, the younger brother.

She chuckled shortly to herself at that and shook her head slowly. Charlotte had called her a day after the initial arrangement to let her know that she would like Sam, that if _anybody_ would like him in that way, well "anyone probably could but so would you." "Gee, thanks Charlotte." "You're welcome. Now, go get him."

So one week later, nervousness rolling through her, here she was in some decent bar in a quiet town in Nevada, waiting for Sam Winchester. Natalie picked up her phone, dialled Charlotte's number and tucked a loose strand of black hair behind her ear. Three rings later she picked up, "Aren't you supposed to be with Gigantor right now?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and took another sip of her wine. She remembered the first time her and Charlotte had shared a drink at a bar and the other Hunter had screwed up her face when Natalie had placed her order. "Do you really call him that?"

"Some days."

"Right, you did tell him about this right? That you wanted him to meet somebody?"

She heard the dancing around in Charlotte's words, "I told him something along those lines yes."

"Charlotte."

"Nat."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I wanted him to find a nice girl and get laid." Natalie screwed her eyes shut and rubbed at her eyes with her finger and thumb. "What?"

"You're disgustingly blunt sometimes."

Natalie could hear the shrug on the other end of the line, "Tell me something I don't know. Now, enjoy your night. Get him a beer."

She made a disgruntled sound, "Another Hunter and his beer?"

"Shut up and enjoy the sasquatch."

Charlotte hung up on her and Natalie stared at her phone with a glare. She sighed as she settled her phone back onto the bar top and signalled to the bar man. "Hey," she said with a warm smile, "can I get a beer please? Any brand will do."

Her phone buzzed and she picked it up to see a message from Dean: _Sam's on his way_.

The beer appeared on the bar top and Natalie passed over a few ones with a kind, "Thanks, keep the change." She sipped her drink and glanced at the door to the bar. All Charlotte had told her about Sam was that he was tall and hot. Nothing more and Natalie stopped trying to get more out of the other woman.

She'd worked through her glass and had another on its way when the door to the bar opened again. Natalie had stopped glancing up after the fifth guy had walked through, so she definitely looked up when somebody stopped next to her by the bar and said, "Natalie?"

And up and up she looked, her chocolate eyes growing wide. "How _tall _are you?"

Sam chuckled and took the seat next to her with a grin, "Hi, I'm Sam."

Natalie smiled widely up at him and held her hand up, "And I'm Natalie." They shook hands and she grabbed the beer she'd ordered for him, "Drink?"

He took it as her glass of wine appeared, "Thanks." He frowned at it, "Is that wine?"

She nodded her head and took a sip. "Problem?"

He shook his head and took a mouthful of beer. Natalie would be lying if she said she didn't watch his throat move. She knew she had to call Charlotte up and yell at her for not warning her how hot Sam was.

"No I'm just used to Hunters drinking beer."

Natalie shook her head with wrinkle of her nose, "I can't stand that stuff. Tried it before and I am never going back."

Sam grinned with a short chuckle and nodded his head, "Each to their own."

"Exactly."

"So," Sam started and Natalie noticed the shift in his position as he straightened up his back and glanced at his bottle before he flicked his eyes to her, "how long have you and Charlotte known each other? She's never mentioned you before."

"Oh, a few years now." Natalie took a sip of her drink and nodded her head, "Yeah, we crossed paths on a hunt in '05. We were after the same Changeling, bumped into each other and decided to help the other out. We've stayed in touch every now and then and meet up for drinks sometimes."

Sam stared, his mouth parted slightly in surprise. "Then she's done a good job of hiding your friendship."

Natalie laughed and took a larger sip of her drink. "Yeah we figured since your family had such bad luck, sorry for what's happened to you guys by the way, that it'd be best to keep my distance."

Sam nodded his head, "Yeah, probably a good idea."

Natalie turned her attention to her glass and tried to think of something to keep the conversation going. They were just two strangers who had been pushed together essentially. "We could get out of here," she blurted before she could help herself and she flicked her eyes up to Sam when he stared at her. She shrugged a shoulder, "We don't have to do anything you know. Catch a movie, go to the store, get some food or just walk."

She watched Sam study her and she almost blushed under the scrutiny before he nodded his head, "Food sounds great actually. My brother, Dean, he err, he likes greasy burgers from fast food vans or those small town diners."

"Ew."

Sam smiled, "Tell me about it."

"So do you want to get some actual food with me Sam? I missed dinner and wouldn't mind the company." She took a few large sips of her wine.

Sam nodded his head, "I'd love to Natalie," and he started to polish off his beer.

She settled her hand on his arm as she finished off her drink and put the empty glass down, "My friends call me Nat."

She stood up, grabbing her leather jacket from the stool and slipped it on. When Sam stood next to her, she had to angle her head to get a proper look at him. She was only five foot ten and even then he looked huge.

"Alright Nat," Sam said with a smile and a gesture of his hand towards the door, "where do you want to go?"

She led the way out of the bar and stopped just outside the door to glance around the parking lot. "There was this little vegetarian café place I wanted to try," she turned to glance up at him as she started towards her car, "unless you'd prefer meat then I know a place on the other side of town that looks good."

An hour later and they were sat in her motel room, perched on the bed as they watched the TV. Natalie had a bottle of wine and a mug by her feet whilst Sam had a bottle of beer, the rest of a pack waiting for him in the kitchenette of the small room. On the television was a rerun from season four of _Sex and the City_. Sam had protested at first but Natalie had told him that she'd bought the food and drinks, the least he could do was sit through an hour of her choice.

And he'd started to enjoy it, but he would never admit that. At least not to Dean or Charlotte.

When the program finished and the credits started to roll Sam stood and turned to face Natalie, his hand out for her empty carton of food. "For some reason, I wasn't expecting so much sex in just one episode."

Natalie laughed and passed him her wrappers, "It does have the word 'sex' in its title Sam."

"Yeah, I know, I just, I don't know, wasn't expecting so much talk or reference to sex."

She grinned and grabbed the mug from the floor that was half filled with glass. "So you enjoyed that then? Despite the awful, girly crap you claimed it to be?"

Sam dumped their rubbish into the bin and turned to shrug and walk back over to her, "Okay, so I was wrong. It wasn't too bad. But if you tell Charlotte or Dean about this-"

Natalie laughed and leaned back on one arm, "Please Sam, I'm not a complete and utter dick. Besides, if she gives you any more trouble just tell her you know about Tallahassee."

Sam frowned and sat down back on the bed next to her as he reached down for his own drink, "What's Tallahassee?" Natalie just raised her brows with a smug grin around her mug. Sam stared at her with a smile and said, "Is it a guy?" Natalie's face didn't change. "A girl?" It still didn't move. "Somebody?" Nothing. "You cannot tease a guy like that."

"I can and I will."

Sam laughed and clucked his tongue, "Alright. Whatever. Tallahassee?"

"Tallahassee," she nodded.

Sam was still grinning and he gave her a pointed look, "She'll kill you."

Natalie shrugged, "That's how she shows her love."

Sam nodded his head in agreement and glanced at his watch. "I should probably be heading back before Dean gets any ideas."

Natalie raised her brows at him with a small smile, "Wasn't that the idea?"

Sam laughed and took another gulp of beer. "It's been fun, great. You seem like a great person."

"Like you'd never believe," she whispered lowly with a wink. "Hang around a little longer and I can show you _how _great."

Sam raised his brows at that and she watched his eyes move down her body once before he fixed them on her face. If anybody asked she would blame it on the almost full bottle of wine she'd drank and Sam's hotness being too close for her to not say _something. _

"Rain check," he said finally and she only nodded her head and took another sip of her drink. He finished off his bottle and stood back up, putting it in the bin.

Natalie finished her own mug of wine and stood to show Sam to the door. She had to admit, he did seem like a great guy and he was certainly her type. "Where are you and your brother staying?"

"Not too far from here, I can walk."

She nodded and watched him grab his jacket and thread his arms through his sleeves. If this was just one half of the Winchester brother duo, she couldn't wait to see what Dean looked like and forced her eyes away from Sam's arms and up to his face. "See you next time Sam."

She opened the door for him and he paused just inside the doorway, his eyes studying her face. Then Sam's face was in front of hers and his mouth was pressed gently against her own lips and she parted them with a small sigh, her hands pressed against his chest. There was nothing more to it then that and she almost pulled on his shirt to drag him back when he pulled away with a grin, "Next time Nat."

And he left.


	8. 2008 October part 3

**A/N:** Well, how could I resist doing this episode from the series? It's time for some 'Yellow Fever'. Time to have some fun ;) Enjoy the cliff hanger.

**marieniz V** this was already planned, but enjoy :)

2008 – October  
Part 3

_Rock Ridge – Colorado_

Charlotte stopped the car and stared up at the motel. Sam and Bobby had called her to tell her that Dean had a ghost sickness. She hadn't been able to control the snicker that left her mouth when she first heard that and Sam was the one who had told her that it wasn't funny. "It is a little."

"Dean could die."

"Still funny. I'm on my way I'm only a couple of towns over so I should be there in a couple of hours."

Sam had given her the room number and she'd told herself to keep her face clear of any humour. This was supposed to be serious but she couldn't stop from smiling, wanting to grin. Of all the people to be infected with ghost sickness, Dean was the funniest. She didn't know what she would be expecting when she entered the motel room.

She knocked and waited. Sam opened the door with an apprehensive look, "Charlotte."

"Sam," she said and she stepped into the room, her eyes seeking out Dean. He was sat, legs propped up on the table and a beer in his hands. "Hey Dean. How's it going?"

Dean looked up with a tight smile and muttered, "Awesome. Almost like I'm about to die. Again."

Charlotte nodded her head as Sam closed the door, "Yeah," she drawled with a grin, "sounds awful."

"Nice to know you sound sorry about it."

She shrugged a shoulder, "We'll fix this. You're not going to die Dean."

"The question is," Sam started as he stood next to her, "where do we go from here? It wasn't the victim's wife." Charlotte nodded as she listened, her eyes watching Dean. Sam had given her a quick run down on the case as she'd driven over. Dean scratched at a red mark on his arm and she lifted a foot to kick his with a frown. He glared at her and stopped scratching as Sam carried on, "The only other thing to do would be to look into Frank's life a little more see who else died."

Dean started coughing and Charlotte glanced up at Sam. After a moment Dean's coughs turned into choking sounds and worry started to eat at her. They were still supposed to have twenty four hours. "Dean?" Sam started. He only carried on choking, a hand on his chest as he stood. "Dean? You okay?"

They followed him to the sink as he continued to cough and cough and cough. "Dean?" Charlotte asked, setting a hand on his shoulder. Then he coughed something up and she frowned, glancing up at Sam. She turned her attention back to the sink as Dean started washing what looked like a wood chip.

"We've been ignoring the biggest clue we have," Sam said and Charlotte stared at him.

"I don't want to be a clue," Dean muttered and Charlotte just gave him a look before she stepped away from the sink and him.

"The abrasions, this, the disease, it's trying to tell us something," Sam added.

"Wood chips?" Charlotte questioned.

"There's a lumber mill," Sam said.

Charlotte nodded, "So what are we waiting for."

She'd left her car parked at the motel as she rode in the back of the Impala. She noticed a difference in Dean just by his driving. He kept under the speed limit and obeyed every single road law. Dean never obeyed the laws of the road, not all of them and she only glanced at Sam with a raise of her brows.

When they pulled up Dean was the last one to climb out of the car. Sam already had the trunk of the car open as Charlotte flicked her eyes from the mill to Dean and back. Sam held a shotgun out to her and she grabbed it with another look at Dean as he joined them near the trunk and stared at the mill.

"I'm not going in there," Dean mumbled and Charlotte pinched her eyes shut for a moment.

"Yes you are," Sam said, "you know more about this case than Charlotte so we need you too."

Charlotte held a gun out to Dean as he took a gulp of whiskey. He put the bottle away and glanced between her and the gun before he shook his head. "I'm not carrying that. It could go off."

"Dean," she started.

He reached into the trunk and grabbed a flash light. He held it up with a grin and proclaimed, "I'll man the flash light."

Charlotte bit her tongue and flicked her gaze to the mill before she glanced at Sam then Dean. With a smirk she said, "It is a little spooky isn't it."

"Tell me about it," Dean started. "What kind of people are we if we want to go into _there _for this thing."

"We are a little crazy," Charlotte muttered with a small frown.

Sam closed the trunk to the Impala and nudged her shoulder with a pointed look. "Not helping," he whispered.

She shrugged her shoulder and pushed on Dean's arm to get him moving. "Come on," she muttered, letting her hand linger on his arm a little longer before she let go and gripped the gun in both hands.

As they walked through the mill Charlotte couldn't help but to glance at every shadow that they passed. She couldn't explain it but something was making her feel... _weird _about this place. There was a certain pace to her heart that she couldn't control and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

At some point Dean jumped and she jerked her head back in shock for a moment before she bit her bottom lip in annoyance and glared at him. He was focused on Sam who picked up a wedding ring from off the floor and read out the inscription inside. A noise from a room to one side grabbed her attention and she gripped her gun a little tighter. Sam led the way and she felt Dean trail in behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and caught the worried look in his face and turned back to face Sam with a concerned look of her own in reference to Dean. Sam's eyes flicked to Dean and he met her gaze with a tight nod of his own, agreeing that this needed to be fixed and soon.

The noise was coming from one of the lockers and Charlotte raised her gun to that locker with a nod to Sam. She felt Dean lean over her shoulder and just waited for Sam with a held breath. He nodded to her, reached forward and quickly pulled open the locker door.

Dean screamed. She jumped and glared at the kitten that jumped out of the longer and ran away. Dean was still screaming and she felt her heart race a little bit faster as he slowly started to calm down. She glared at Sam and he just glared over her shoulder at Dean before she heard the older Winchester say, "That was scary."

She and Sam shared a look before they turned and started walking back into the main rooms of the mill, leaving Dean to follow of his own free will. Sam moved to a workbench and picked up an ID card and read out the name, "Luther Garland."

"Who?" Charlotte asked.

Dean was already with them and moving to another wall in the room and Charlotte followed his movements with her eyes. She watched him eye up a wall of drawings and say, "Hey, this is uh, Frank's wife." He ripped one of the pages down and the sound of machinery started around them. Charlotte jumped a little and glanced around the room before she looked back at Sam then Dean. He was focused on something over her and Sam's shoulder and she turned to see a figure huddled in the corner.

"Hey!" Sam shouted and Charlotte stole a glance over her shoulder to see a set of doors swinging and Dean already running away. She glanced at Sam and watched the same look cross his face before he turned and fired on the apparition. He nodded his head to the door and started running, "Let's go."

"Don't have to tell me twice," she muttered.

Sam gave her a look and she tried to ignore it as they reached the main doors to the mill. "You okay Charlotte?"

"I'm good," she answered automatically and felt herself worry that Sam would see through the lie. Outside they found Dean behind the Impala with the bottle of whiskey in hand, slowly downing it. She stopped just in front of him and snatched it away from him before he could finish it off. "Give me that," and she eyed the liquid inside before she threw back a few gulps and handed the rest back to Dean.

"I guess we got the right place," Sam said as he stopped next to them, his eyes narrowing on her for a second.

"What?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. Let's just get back to the motel room."

The car ride back was quiet and filled with music that was turned down by Dean, "Who has their music that loud anyway? They want to crash?" She'd sat in the back, glad for the breathing room and found herself moving a hand to rub at the fabric over the crook of her elbow. Sam threw a look at her and she glared at him, dropping her hand straight away before she turned her eyes to the passing cars. She flicked her eyes back to Sam and satisfied that he'd turned away, she rubbed at her arm again and almost lifted her sleeve to scratch at the itchy skin there.

They made it back to the motel room and Sam held Charlotte back as Dean headed inside. "What?"

He frowned at her and glanced in Dean's direction before he looked back at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Why? I seem off to you?" And she swore she could hear a faint tremor in those last few words.

Sam's concern showed on his face and he made a face at her. "Charlotte, honestly, how are you feeling?"

She held her hands up and shrugged. "Fine. No stranger than usual." She dropped her hands and slowly started scratch at her arm again.

Sam sighed and pushed her hand away from her arm. "I think you might be infected too."

"Come on," she complained, "do I look like I'm jumping at everything? I'm not the one that screamed from a damn cat and I am certainly not infected with this damn ghost sickness crap." She lasted all of five seconds before she scratched at her arm and she ducked her head with a sigh. She could feel Sam's eyes on her and glared at him. "Why aren't you infected?"

He nodded his head to the motel and she followed behind him, still scratching at her arm. "You and Dean have similar personality traits."

"You mean we're both dicks?"

Sam glanced at her and pulled her hand away from her arm. "You said. it."

She scoffed and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "Great, I'm slowly getting scared to death."

"Look, you and Dean stay here. I'll go to the Sheriff's station and see what I can find out about this Luther guy." They entered the motel room to see Dean already sat on the couch with a beer in front of him and his hand scratching at his arm. "Dean, give me your keys."

"What why?"

"You and Charlotte are staying here while I ask the Sheriff some questions about this Luther guy."

Dean opened his mouth to protest but Charlotte just sighed with a roll of her eyes and moved to grab herself a beer. "Just give him the keys Dean." She opened a bottle and poured half of it down her throat before she took a breath of air. She felt her arm itch and couldn't resist the urge to scratch her arm as she moved to sit on the couch next to Dean. She grabbed the remote and turned the small TV on. She glanced at Sam and he only opened his mouth and closed it again before he left.

Charlotte leaned back in her seat, the bottle propped on her knee and her eyes fixed on the TV. The silence lasted for a few seconds before she heard Dean scratching and she reached an arm out to slap his. "Stop it."

He grumbled and fell back against the couch with her. After a few moments he turned to her and said, "Are you babysitting me? Is that why we're here?"

"Yep."

A pause. "You know, you could've lied."

"I could've. Not gonna."

"Well thanks."

She turned her head to glare at him, "You're welcome." And the itch was back. She ground her teeth together and resisted for two seconds before she scratched at her arm. She scratched at her arm for a little longer before she kicked at the ground and forced her hand away from herself and glared at the TV.

The silence lasted a few more seconds before Dean spoke again, "Can I ask you something?"

She turned her head to face him and took a sip of beer. "What?"

"Our lives suck right?"

She snorted with a grin, "Tell me something I don't know."

"I'm just saying you know, our lives suck and we have nothing to show for it."

"And we probably never will." Dean frowned at her and she shrugged her shoulders, "Dean, we're hunters. Hunter's die messy."

Dean stared at her for a moment before he turned his face away from her and scratched at his arm again. "Yeah, no, I know, which is insane. What kind of people want to chase monsters for a living? We don't even get paid for this! _We_ are insane." Charlotte smiled as she watched Dean talk, "You know what's worse? We don't even get a real life." He turned his head back to her and she arched her brows. She swatted at his hand and he dropped it for a moment before he started scratching again. "We are _never_ going to be normal. And that sucks."

Charlotte flicked her eyes to Dean's scratching arm and found her own arm beginning to itch. She gave in and frowned at him. "What was the question again?"

He hesitated and she saw the worry in his eyes as he said, "I want to show something for my life. Something other than a corpse or burnt bones."

She frowned and finally stopped scratching. She grabbed his hand and yanked it away from his arm. "Like what?"

"You."

She raised her brows at him. "What?"

Then Dean was babbling, "There's a church in town, a preacher. And you know you promised me that you would."

"Dean," she started.

"What? You promised! I mean, yeah things aren't exactly peachy between us, but I want it to be, don't you?"

She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out and she closed it again. After a few moments of staring into wide, green eyes she nodded. "Yeah, but I promised for a time when we're both _not_ dying."

"We've got time before we die!"

"Dean!"

"What? Sam's not gonna let us die. You said that!"

She rolled her eyes and turned to look away from him. "Yeah and now is not the time to be thinking about tying the damned knot."

"Well why not? We wanna do it so let's do it." She stared at him and examined his face closely before he said, "Well?"


	9. 2008 October part 4

**A/N:** Here's the second half of "Yellow Fever" enjoy ;)

2008 – October

Part 4

_Rock Ridge – Colorado_

Sam paced, every awful scenario running through his head. Bobby was already on his way to help with the situation, now that he needed back up that wouldn't jump at every loud sound. But getting back to the motel room the last thing he'd expected to find was an empty room. He'd turned back around and driven all across town, trying to find the pair who were just hours away from dying of a fear induced heart attack.

After several hours he'd come back, rang their phones over and over again until he was left to pace with nothing to ease his panic that they weren't already dying on the side of the road somewhere. He'd considered calling Natalie to see if she'd heard anything from Charlotte, but Sam stopped himself from pressing 'call'. There was no need to get more people concerned.

It had gone eleven by the time the door opened and Sam could stop pacing to stare at the two hunters. "Where have you been?" he started, not even letting them close the door.

Dean jumped, one hand patting gently across his chest as he turned to Charlotte who stared, open mouthed with her hand on the door. She closed it, glanced at Dean before she looked back at Sam and shrugged, "Out?"

Sam raised his brows and held his hands by his sides. "Out?" He stared from his brother to her and back. Dean just stared wide eyed and Sam could see the fear creeping into his eyes. Charlotte looked a little scared herself and Sam sighed. "Where did you go?" he asked in a calmer voice.

Charlotte was the one who spoke, "We went for a walk?"

Sam watched Dean flick his eyes from her to him, back and back again. "Dean?" he tried, wondering if his brother's heightened sense of fear would help him gain some kind of answer.

"What? We went out. We walked. It's not exactly a lie."

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and stepped into the room. "We went for a walk." She moved into the room and threw herself across the couch. "Now I'm going to sleep. I'm tired and you two can keep the comfy beds."

Sam stared at her and sighed before he turned to look at his brother. Dean just ducked his head and moved straight to the bedroom, grabbing his bag on the way. Sam glared from Dean's back to Charlotte's quiet form, her eyes closed and her head rolled back, before he gave in and followed their leads and got ready for bed.

Maybe he would get answers when this was over.

Sam was the first to wake and he frowned at his brother's screwed up face before he climbed out of bed and dressed. When he grabbed some breakfast he studied Charlotte. She lay on her front, one arm hanging over the side of the couch and her fingers brushing across the floor. As he drank his coffee he narrowed his eyes and watched Charlotte's face twitch. After a few seconds she twisted, curling up on her side, a noise escaping her lips. "Charlotte?" Sam started lowly.

She moved, pressing her face into the couch cushions and Sam moved forward, hearing the frightened sounds that came from her mouth. "Charlotte?" he tried, leaning down to press a hand gently to her shoulder. "Wake up."

This close he could hear the mumblings she was uttering, "No, back, stop, no, please, dad," and Sam gently shook her shoulder. She writhed onto her back, her face screwed up in pain and Sam pulled his hand back as he watched, unsure what to do. Then she jerked up, panted heavily and stared at the opposite wall, oblivious to Sam as she tried to catch her breath.

He lifted a hand and gently settled it onto her shoulder. She jumped and Sam retook his hand, holding it up. "Hey, it's just me. You okay?"

She nodded, threw back the blanket that was covering her and kicked her legs over the side of the couch. "I'm good." She scrubbed her face with her hand before she threaded her hand through her hair and stood. "I'm good. I'm fine. Only got what," she flicked her wrist out and eyed her watch with tired eyes, "fourteen hours until I die."She looked back up at with a smirk that didn't work with the fear in her eyes.

Sam gave her a look and stood. "I've called in Bobby to give me a hand. He should be getting into town in a couple of hours."

She twisted her head to peer up at him and nodded her head. "And me and Dean are staying here right?"

"It's probably the best thing for you guys." She nodded and Sam watched as she started scratching at her arm. He frowned and nudged her shoulder, "Stop that."

She dropped her hand and glared at Sam when Dean appeared. Sam stood up and grabbed his coffee again. "Me and Bobby are going to figure this out. You two, stay here, don't go anywhere alright?" Dean mumbled a response, a hand scratching at his arm and Sam nudged his brother's shoulder when he saw the deep scratches. "Dean."

Dean groaned and made his way to the kitchen, his hand already back on his arm.

Sam sighed and flicked his eyes between the two people. They were both scratching without a care that he was in the room too. "Just, stay here. Don't go for any more walks." He grabbed the keys to the Impala and pulled his jacket on.

Twenty minutes later and he was resting against the hood of the Impala as he waited for Bobby to show. Sam's phone buzzed and he eyed the three word message on the phone from Dean with raised brows.

_**We got married.**_

He didn't get a chance to reply as Bobby's car pulled up and he put his phone away to greet the older man. "Hey Bobby, thanks for coming up so quick."

Bobby nodded, "Where are they?"

Sam tilted his head to one side in thought and came up with, "Home sick."

"Well, have their hallucinations started yet?"

Sam nodded. "Dean started a few hours ago, Charlotte's due to start any minute by my guess." He checked the time on his watch and did a quick mental check, "We've got just under two hours before Dean kicks it." Dean's message came back to mind and Sam turned to look at Bobby, "They got married."

It took a moment for Bobby to answer, "Who?"

Sam laughed shortly, "Dean and Charlotte."

"Since when?"

"Last night apparently."

Bobby stared at Sam for a few more seconds before he shook his head, "Guess we better get a move on then."

Charlotte stared at Dean with wide eyes. "I thought we said we'd wait, you know, until we weren't dying."

Dean shook his head and scratched, "I got hours. I can already feel my heart going and it's Sammy. If I die-"

"You're not dying!" and she scratched violently at her arm for several seconds before she groaned and wriggled herself next to Dean to rest her head on his shoulder. "You're not going to die," she said in a small voice. She could feel Dean still scratching and left him to it. She had her own matters to deal with, including the guy who was sat in the chair, watching her, whispering taunts at her.

Dean's phone rang and she jumped away from him. With shaky breaths she stood and moved away from that chair to make herself a drink. She could hear the voice following her and tried to ignore the too clean shaven face and the gentle eyes. "You're going to die," the voice whispered, "worthless and pathetic as you are. Nobody wants you. It's pity that they invite you anywhere, include you in anything."

A small whimper left her throat and she dared not to turn around. Her hands shook as she grabbed a glass and filled it with water. She jumped, dropped the glass into the sink and turned with wide eyes to the door. She swore she could hear screaming coming from it and her eyes couldn't quite focus on the wood. She flicked her gaze to Dean, crouched behind the chair, and tried to push away the fear clawing away inside of her when the door was kicked open and a Sheriff stepped in, a gun in his hand.

"Sheriff?" Dean started and Charlotte stared between the two men. "What are you doing?"

Charlotte took a step forward and studied the Sheriff. "You're sick," she said and the man turned to point the gun at her. She took a step back and held her hands up. "You're sick. Just like us," she mumbled quickly and she tried to show him her arm.

"Just relax," Dean added and he took a step back as the Sheriff took one step towards Dean.

Charlotte shook her head and jumped when the Sheriff lashed out, catching Dean across his head. "Dean!" She marched across the room and the Sheriff turned, bringing the gun up to her chest. She froze, eyes fixed on the barrel and she slowly glanced up at the man.

Then he was saying something about a guy called Frank and mistakes. Charlotte watched him, watched the gun and watched him some more until his eyes were on Dean. Then she swung a hand out and knocked his gun out of his hand and to the floor. The Sheriff glared at her and she took a step back.

She lost track of what happened but at some point she ended up being shoved against the fridge and Dean had been shoved over the chair whilst the Sheriff lay across the broken remains of the table, his hand gripping at his chest. She slowly pulled herself up and frowned as she listened to the guy scream about staying away from him before he just, stopped.

Charlotte shared a look with Dean and stared back down at the Sheriff's body before she fell onto the couch, her hands over her face. "Hello Charlotte."

She froze and slowly pulled her hands away from her face to stare towards the chair. Behind it she could see Dean sat on the edge of a bed, but on the chair sat Matthew. "Are you real?" she whispered.

He chuckled and she watched his eyes turn black. "As real as you or Dean."

She jumped from her seat and started to pace. "You're not real. Not real."

"Don't worry, it won't be long before you see the fiery pits of hell and find out what it means to burn."

"You're not real!" she shouted, her hands on her ears and she turned to glare at Matthew, but he was gone. She took a sharp breath and shook her, eyes wide. It took her a few moments to realise that she couldn't see Dean and she moved, "Dean?" When she entered the bedroom he was on the floor, one hand on his chest and his eyes fixed on something that wasn't there. "Dean? It's not real. It's not real!"

He shuffled back, his eyes still fixed on that empty space and his face flinching. "Dean," she started, her voice close to begging as she knelt down next to him and grabbed his shirt. He barely glanced at her before he looked back up to whatever hallucination he was seeing. "Dean," she begged, "it's not real! It's not real. You need to relax. Breathe, come on Dean breathe." He squirmed still, trying to get away from it and her, both hands going up to his neck.

She almost cried, knowing that he was seconds away from death before he took a large breath and choked on the sudden intake of air. Charlotte relaxed, her head falling to rest on his shoulder as she breathed deeply, sudden relief flooding through her system. She felt Dean's arm around her and listened to him whisper, "I'm fine. I'm good, I'm fine."

Eventually she pulled away and sat back on her knees, her chest still heaving. After a few moments she pinched her eyes shut and sighed before moving to sit down next to him. "Dean," she started, still trying to chase away the fear from her voice, "we got married."

He chuckled. "Yeah, we did." She lifted her head to meet his gaze and couldn't help the soft smile. Dean was looking at her, studying her and she found herself squirming under his gaze. "You regret it?" he asked eventually.

It took her a few moments to answer but she slowly shook her head. "No. You?"

He shook his head too, "No."

She grinned and nudged his shoulder with hers, "You told Sam."

Dean closed his eyes and hung his head. "And he's probably told Bobby."

She chuckled and climbed to her feet, holding a hand out to him, "Come on. Let's go meet them, tell them thanks for saving our asses." Dean took her hand and she helped him to his feet. "We can always claim it doesn't count."

Dean raised his brows at her and pulled on her hand until he could wrap his arms around her, "You going back on your word already?"

She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, but fear induced marriage isn't very romantic." She pecked his mouth and tried to pull away. "Dean," she started.

"Fear induced or not you owed me."

She chuckled and threaded a hand through his hair before she kissed him quickly and pushed herself away from him. "We're married, I accept it. You happy Winchester?"

Dean grinned and started to grab his bags as his phone began to ring, "Yep, _Mrs _Winchester."

She pulled a face at him and grabbed her own bag as he answered the call, "We are so having a talk about _that_."

Fifteen minutes later and they were meeting Sam and Bobby, a fresh pack of beer in the car. Charlotte offered a beer to Bobby, who declined and shrugged her shoulder as she sat herself on the hood of her car. She let her eyes trail over the paintwork, wincing at the amount of work she still needed to put into it. The dents were mostly gone but it needed a fresh coat of paint.

"So what's this I hear about you two getting hitched?"

Charlotte jerked her head up at the sound of Bobby's voice and immediately answered with a thumb in Dean's direction, "His idea."

Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise as he stared at his brother. "Really?"

"Shut up," Dean muttered.

"So are you two seriously going through with-"

"Yeah," Charlotte interrupted Sam and nodded her head. "Guess we are." Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to read a location in the message. She frowned and pocketed her phone. "Well, thanks," she flicked her eyes from Sam to Bobby, "for saving our asses."

"How are you two feeling anyway?" Sam asked.

"I'm fine," Dean answered and Charlotte nodded in agreement.

Bobby nodded and Charlotte worked on getting through her beer as he asked, "You sure?Cause this line of work can get awful scary."

"I'm fine," Dean said again and Charlotte turned to watch him as he continued on, "You want to go hunting? I'll hunt. I'll kill anything."

She held her laughter for a second before she chuckled as Sam said, "Awww," and Bobby said, "He's adorable."

"Whatever," Dean grumbled and Charlotte reached a hand up to mess with his hair.

She finished her drink and slid off her car. "Well, you guys stay safe. I've got a thing in Manhattan."

"A thing?" Dean asked, standing up straight to turn to her.

"Yeah, may be nothing may be something. A thing."

Dean frowned at her slightly before he stepped away from her car. "Stay safe," he offered with a wink that only she could see and he reached out to tug her against his side.

She nodded her head and grinned up at him, "You too," she said and she let him press his mouth to hers in a sweet, long kiss, much to the amusement of Sam and Bobby who made cries of "That's enough to that" and "get a room", before she climbed into her car and left. As she drove she couldn't help but to think back to what Dean had said. Mrs Winchester. She scoffed with a grin and shook her head before she started to test the name on her lips, "Charlotte Winchester. Charlotte Winchester. Charlotte. Winchester." She pulled a face and after a moment shook her head. "Not yet," she muttered to herself before she grabbed her phone and sent a quick reply to the message with _I'm on my way_.

_He gripped the stained porcelain sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly, trying to put a name to his own face. He didn't recognise the eyes that stared back at him, didn't recognise the face that looked afraid and frightened. _

_He hung his head and slowly lifted his hands to stare at his palms. It felt as though something was missing, something big. He didn't feel _whole _and it scared him. He looked back up at his reflection and swallowed nervously. _

"_Who am I?" he asked himself, knowing he didn't have an answer. _


	10. 2008 November

**A/N:** Hey guys, enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think. I would appreciate any and all opinions. Thanks.

2008 – November

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

"Come on, come on. Pick up. Pick up dammit." Charlotte paced in the salvage yard next to her car, her phone pressed to her ear. The call went to answer phone and she groaned and hung up before she dialled again and turned, planting one hand on the edge of her car as her eyes studied the engine block. "Come on Matt. I'm sorry, just pick up, _please_."

She glared at the engine, not finding it strange that her car had broken down _again_. Her handiwork was excellent and there was no reason for her car to break down unless somebody wanted it to, and she had a good idea of who that somebody was.

"_This is Matthew, leave a message after the beep."_

She growled and scrubbed her hand over her face before she decided to leave a message for him. "I'm sorry Matt, for what I said. I'm an ass and I don't deserve you to answer me, but unless you want the end of the world to happen, _please_, answer me. I need you. Please."

Charlotte hung up with a sigh and put her phone back into her pocket. She turned her attention to her car and threaded her hand through her hair before she reached into the engine. A couple of spark plugs had blown out, which explained what happened, but they had been new when she'd replaced them last month. There was no chance that they should've gone by now and she tried to ignore the way her body itched with the feeling of being watched.

She pulled out the old spark plugs and gave in to the need to do something. She grabbed her phone and dialled Crowley's number. It took a little longer for him to answer than she liked but she listened to him ask, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need some kind of masking spell or something from the angels. You know anything?"

There was a pause before he answered, "Not yet."

She didn't pry into what that meant and just sighed. "Well thanks for nothing." And she hung up. She put her phone back into her pocket and worked on putting in new spark plugs. Forty minutes and a lot of swearing later Charlotte sighed and closed the hood of her car. She grabbed the old plugs and moved into Bobby's house to dump them in the bin. "I'm done," she called out and she turned her head to see Bobby in the living room, sat behind his desk with a pen in his hand.

"What are you hunting again?"

Charlotte shrugged. "At a glance a werewolf," it wasn't a complete lie. The mutilated bodies could be the work of werewolves to anybody else. "So I was gonna go check it out in Georgia."

Bobby stared at her with a frown and Charlotte could feel the silent questioning coming from the older man. "You sure it's a werewolf?"

"No," she said honestly and started rifling through her pockets for her car keys. "But somebody needs to look into it."

"Looks like something a lot more than a werewolf."

She shrugged again and hooked her finger into the keyring on her keys. "If I think it's anything more I'll call you."

Bobby stared at her a little more before he threw the pen onto the desk and stood up. "Charlotte, you wanna tell me what's going on? Ever since Dean went to hell you've been hunting up and down the country on lame ass leads that no other hunter would even turn their nose up at. Lying to me about what you're doing ain't gonna do you a lick of good. I love you like a damned daughter but I'll be dammed if I let you pull this kind of crap some more. So you wanna try again. What are you hunting?"

Charlotte couldn't look Bobby in the eyes, couldn't bring herself to even raise her eyes off the floor. She loved Bobby and hated herself for the way she'd been treating him, but she just didn't know how to put it into words, how to explain one thing without having to explain about everything else. That was a can of worms she didn't want to open. Not yet.

"Demons," she said simply and dared to glance up at Bobby. Even that word, a partial truth, felt sour on her tongue but she couldn't bring herself to say anything more.

Bobby narrowed his eyes slightly before he repeated, "Demons?"

She nodded slowly, "Demons."

And it was another moment before Bobby said, "There's nothing pointing to demons except mutilated corpses."

"Yeah, but I know somebody in town who thinks it's a little more." She hated herself a little bit more for that. It wasn't a complete lie but it wasn't anywhere near the truth.

"What's their name?"

She hesitated a moment before she blurted out the first name that came to mind, "Max Ward."

"Never heard of him."

Charlotte nodded, "He's relatively new, still making friends. Look, I should get going."

Bobby stared at her for a little longer before he nodded slowly, his brows still furrowed. "Alright, just call you hear me?"

"Yeah. I'll call." She gave it another moment before she cleared her throat and nodded to the back door, "See you." She tried to ignore the heaviness in chest as she made a line for her car and climbed inside. Five minutes later and she pulled out of the salvage yard with a sigh. She scrubbed a hand over her face with a groan and mentally kicked herself.

Her phone buzzed and she opened the message that said, _"You've got twenty four hours." _

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled and she dropped her phone onto the top of the dashboard. She was just about to pass the border of Sioux Falls when there was a rustle of fabric. Somebody appeared in the passenger seat and she jumped, her hands twisting at the wheel of her car in surprise and sending her car turning before she righted it, pulled over and stopped. She stared at the guy in the seat and quickly mumbled, "You." A small ache started in the back of her skull but she kept her eyes glued to him, despite the bright light around him. It was brighter than when she'd seen Castiel and god was it getting to her a lot more.

He chuckled and held up a folded piece of paper. He turned amber eyes in her direction and said, "Go here. And make it quick."

Charlotte grabbed his arm and kept him in place. "Not until you tell me who the hell you are." After a moment she winced and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're different to the rest of them."

"I heard about your little problem," he said with a small smile and she felt her fingers loosen their hold on him. "Yeah, sorry about that, but I am on _your_ side." He sighed and she watched him turned to stare out of the windscreen. "Well, I approve of what you're trying to do."

She frowned and finally released his arm before she grabbed the paper. "First I've heard about anybody liking what I do."

"Just ditch Crowley when you get the chance. I don't like him."

"That's the plan cause I don't like him either," she muttered and she pried the paper open. Her head started to pound and she squinted at the address. "This is a day in the opposite direction. What the hell's in Nevada?" When she lifted her head she looked up to find an empty car. She glanced at the back seat of her car and groaned. "I hate it when you guys do that," she muttered and she stared at the address on the piece of paper.

Charlotte sighed and leaned back in her seat. He'd been the same guy that had appeared in her mind when she'd been in that coma, telling her that she was interesting and that he wasn't somebody she needed to be afraid of. But what did he want her to check out? She ran a hand over her face. Something was telling her that she needed to check it out, see what was what. On the other hand killing the demons in Georgia was very time sensitive. "Come on man," she muttered, turning her attention to the clouds outside. "What's in Nevada? Just a hint, a clue, anything." There was nothing for a few seconds, not that she expected anything, before she said, "I am not going at it blind."

Her phone rang and she stared at it a moment before she flicked her eyes back up. "This better be you," she mumbled before she picked up, "hello?"

"Hey it's Dean."

Her shoulders deflated with an audible sigh and she sagged into her seat. "Hey," she muttered.

"You expecting somebody else?"

"I don't even know," she cleared her throat and shuffled in her seat. "What'd you want?"

"We're bored."

She chuckled with a grin. "And? I am _not _a booty call Dean. Use your hand, there's a bathroom near you right?"

"_That_ is not why I called." She could hear the humour in his voice. "We're bored. There's like, nothing. No dead bodies, nothing to hunt, nothing." There was a pause before Dean said, "But if you're offering..."

She grinned, "In your dreams Winchester."

Dean laughed. "You're a Winchester too you know."

"And?" She stared at the piece of paper in her hand and let a thought come to mind. "Where are you guys right now?"

"We err, finished a job with a wishing well last week. Now we're just waiting on something else."

She raised her brows at that. "Wishing well?" After a moment she shook her head, "How am I not surprised you guys had a case about a wishing well? Listen, there might be something in Nevada. Somebody gave me an address but I got a thing in Georgia too. You want in?"

"What's in Georgia?"

"A thing," she let out.

There was a moment before Dean said, "Right well-"

Dean's words disappeared as her phone was yanked out of her hand and she turned to see the same guy from before. "What are you-" Charlotte managed to get out before she watched him roll down the window and toss her phone outside. She stared at him a moment later before she snapped, ignoring the pain in her head. "What the hell was that for?"

"Get to Nevada. This is more important then killing that white eyed bitch."

"Really? I think saving the world is-"

"Charlotte!" She clamped her mouth shut and recoiled from his voice slightly. He pointed a finger up and said, "You really want to screw with them? Go to Nevada. I am not asking again."

She could feel something in her mind slip away and it felt as though something was leaking into her body. "Just tell me who _you_ are and I am out of here, to Nevada."

He paused for a moment, a sly smirk curling the corners of his lips before he leaned towards her whispered, "The Trickster," before he winked and left.

She pressed one hand to her head and clutched the steering wheel with the other. "Jesus Christ," she groaned, her eyes screwed shut and her head pounding. A small trickle of blood worked its way from her nose and over her lips and she wiped her hand over under her nose with a glare to the roof of her car. "Since when were trickster's angels?" She groaned and spat out the word, "bastard," before she rummaged in the glove compartment for anything to help with the blood. She found some old, greased rags and wiped at the blood with it. "God I hate you bastards," she mumbled.

The next ten minutes she spent breathing and cleaning her face before she started up her car and pulled a u-turn in the middle of the road. "Nevada, here I come," she muttered, her head still on the verge of spinning.

As she drove she felt something in her mind stay there, something off and she couldn't shake it. It wormed its way throughout her entire body and grew, expanding to begin to fill her entire body up and she couldn't settle in her seat. She wrung her hands on the steering wheel and heard the worrying sound of metal creaking. She pulled her hands away from the wheel, one at a time to shake her hands and try to ease some of the tension out of her body. The more she drove the more she felt her head pound and her body ache. The edges of her vision blurred and it got harder and harder to keep her eyes open and her vision straight.

Charlotte rolled her shoulders with an uncomfortable groan and felt something twist inside of her mind as though clicking into place. Something wasn't right and she tightened her hold on the steering wheel. There was the sound of creaking metal again and she stared at the wheel with wide eyes before she pulled her hand away and gripped her head again with a whine.

She tried to focus on the road, tried to focus on finding a pay phone to call for help but it was getting harder to concentrate and she felt her body grow tired. Eventually she pulled over at the sight of a payphone and her stomach twisted with the urge to vomit. Something was roiling inside of her and she needed air. Needed it now.

She pushed her door open a little too roughly and stumbled out, one hand pressed against her car to steady herself. Something shifted under her hand and she shifted with it. She slumped against her car and glared at the sky. "Trickster, whoever you are," she whined out, "get your ass down here." Something in her chest shifted and she stumbled, when nobody appeared, towards the payphone. "Matt?" she whispered, pleading to thin air.

She shoved a hand against the hood of her car, felt the car move underneath her and fell hard to the ground. The air was forced from her lungs and one arm was trapped underneath her body and she slowly dragged her head up to eye the pay phone. It was close, but she couldn't move. Her body was alight with pain and her limbs were heavy and she felt as though she was dying. Everything hurt.

"Castiel?" she tried, her voice quiet and low. It was a struggle to keep her head up and she felt the pain begin to take over, felt it drag her into the land of the unconscious. "Please," she barely managed to whisper as her eyes closed and she laid her head against the cool ground.


	11. 2008 November part 2

2008 – November

Part 2 

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Bobby didn't know what to expect. Sheriff Jody Mills had called to tell him that Charlotte had been found by the side of the road and that there was an ambulance on the way. When he asked her what the hell had happened Jody only shrugged and said, "I wish I knew, but all I've got is a bump in the hood of her car and that's it. Look, they'll take her to Sioux Falls General, I'll let them know you'll be waiting."

Five minutes later and he'd parked, called the Winchester's and was pacing the main entrance of the hospital when the doors opened and a pair of paramedics entered. They were rolling a gurney in and Bobby fell in pace behind them as he looked over Charlotte's unconscious face. He just stared at her and probed the paramedics for answers to what was wrong with her. Nobody answered him as they talked around him, passing information to the doctor's about high blood pressure, rapid heart rate and a high temperature.

It was a nurse that asked Bobby to step to one side as they took Charlotte into a room and started hooking her up to different machines. He asked her what was happening and the nurse told him that she didn't have any information for him at the time but that she was in good hands. He tried to ask for more information but she just guided him to the waiting area, away from the window, and told him that she would speak to him personally and keep him updated.

He managed five minutes of sitting before he stood and started back to the window when a hand on his arm pulled him around. He turned to face Jody Mills and the Sheriff looked up at him apologetically. "How's she doing?"

Bobby shook his head and moved to stand outside of her room. He felt Jody stand next to him and he said, "Dunno. Doctor's won't say anything."

Jody nodded, her arms folded over her chest and Bobby could feel the frown on her face. "This has happened before hasn't it?" He turned to face the Sheriff with a questioning look. Jody just looked up at him with a shrug of her shoulders, "I heard about it, almost everyone did." Bobby still stared. Last time she'd died and her body had walked out of the morgue. "Of course," Jody went on, "that doesn't explain what exactly _happened_." Bobby just turned his attention away from Jody and to the monitors that were hooked up to Charlotte. None of them had calmed down an inch since he'd first seen them turned on. This was different to last time. "Bobby?"

He sighed and turned to Jody. "What? What do you want me to say?"

"Just tell me if it's something to do with the weird stuff that you two do and I won't ask any more questions."

Bobby nodded, "It is." He turned to look back into the room, his eyes finding the monitors. They were still going wild, all of the alarms still going off and he frowned. "I appreciate it if you kept this quiet, Jody."

"Yeah," she mumbled, "just don't make me regret it." She patted his back and he turned to see her smiling gently up at him, "Let me know how she's doing alright?"

"Will do." He watched her leave, thankful that she was the only cop in town who gave him leeway with anything. He lifted his eyes when he saw the two brothers move around her and make their way straight to him.

"What happened?" Dean asked before he'd even stopped running.

Bobby waited until both of them stopped to stand next to him and stare into the room. "Beats me," he said with a shake of his head. "Sheriff Mills found her passed out on the side of the road, some dent in her car."

"Demon?" Sam rattled off lowly.

Bobby shook his head again, "Demons don't leave people alive."

"Angel?" Sam said.

The older man shrugged his shoulder and glanced at Dean as he spoke, "I don't know. She's out for the count." Dean just stared into the room and Bobby shared a look with Sam.

"How long's she been out?" Dean muttered with tense muscles.

Bobby checked his watch, "Since I got the call, about forty minutes ago."

Dean turned and took a couple of steps away from the window, his hands curled into fists, before he mumbled, "Cas? Cas you there? You gotta help her." Bobby glanced at Sam who shrugged before he flicked his eyes back to Dean. "Come on man."

The door to Charlotte's room opened and Bobby fixed his attention on the doctor. She looked between the three men with a frown before she said, "You're all her family."

"Yeah," Sam said. "What's wrong with her?"

The doctor glanced at the room before she looked back to them. "It looks like a heart attack, only it doesn't seem to be stopping." She shook her head and sighed quietly, "Add into that she's running a fever that I haven't seen before. When she came in it was at 98, now it's at 104 and it doesn't look like it's stopping."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked.

The doctor looked sadly at him and shook her head, "If her temperature climbs and her heart doesn't stop, honestly, her body won't be able to withstand the stress. She won't last the night. We're trying everything to stop that from happening but she's not responding to the drugs like she's supposed to. If we try any more medication then we run the risk of doing more harm then good. I need to ask, are there any conditions we need to be made aware of?"

"Conditions?" Bobby echoed.

"Diseases, allergies, conditions that may not be in her medical record?"

"No," Bobby finally answered with a look to the two brothers.

The doctor looked between them all with raised brows. "There's nothing?"

"Nothing," Dean commented, his eyes back on the window, flicking between an unconscious Charlotte and the erratic monitors. Everything else the doctor said was drowned out by his internal voice begging Charlotte to wake up. His hands curled into fists as he watched some of the other staff begin to exit the room until there was just two nurses.

He turned and walked. He vaguely remembered telling Sam and Bobby he needed some air but he walked until he found a quiet corner of the hospital and with a growl in his voice spoke lowly, "Cas if you don't get your feathery ass down here I swear to God I will-"

"You'll what Dean?"

He spun on the spot and glared at the angel. "Fix her.

Cas shook his head, his face clear of any and all emotion as he said, "I can't."

"Why? Cause she's half angel? Because all of your buddies want her dead? Fix. Her. Or I'll stop doing what you guys want."

Cas blinked slowly as he tilted his chin slightly and said, "I can't because I don't know how to. Nobody does." Dean stared, his brows knitting together and Cas turned his head away for a moment. "She's the first and only of her kind. Something that we have never seen before. Whatever I may do may end up killing her."

"She's going to die anyway! Something is a hell of a lot better than nothing."

"And if it's me that kills her you'll have somebody to blame. Somebody to hate. I won't do it."

"Cas-"

"Dean, let this take its course."

Dean scoffed and shook his head, "I don't even know what _it _is." But Cas had already left and Dean glared at the empty wall. He glared, feeling the anger build and he paced the small empty space in the corridor for a short while before he slammed a fist against the wall. He pressed his arm against the wall and took a deep breath before he ran a hand over his face and stormed back to Charlotte's room. There was only one nurse there now but Dean's attention was on the heart monitor that was still going crazy. He stared at it, watching the green lines scatter across the screen.

He heard the nurse shuffle out and the door close but it was Sam who broke the silence. "We're all thinking the same thing right? It's her angel side playing up."

Dean shook his head. "Those bastards can't do anything apparently because they don't know anything. Guess who's the first and only Nephilim?"

Bobby sighed and grabbed his phone. "I'll make a few calls, see if anybody knows enough hoodoo to do anything."

Sam nodded and he waited until Bobby was gone before he turned to his brother and walked to the other side of the bed. He looked down and noticed the small sheen of sweat that covered Charlotte's body. Underneath her eyelids her eyes flickered and her mouth shivered. "We'll figure this out Dean."

"Yeah," Dean said absently and Sam watched as he pulled up a chair and sat himself down, his hand in Charlotte's. "We better."

Three hours passed and the only thing that had changed was that her heart beat had started to increase and her temperature was now 105. Dean hadn't moved, refusing to let go of her hand as he watched her face, waiting, hoping and silently begging. Her doctor had come in, taken a few notes and told Dean that he should prepare himself. Sam and Bobby were outside, talking to themselves. Dean could see them out of the corner of his eyes but he just clung harder to her hand, willing her to wake up.

Another eight hours passed and Dean felt his body protest loudly at his position. He let go of Charlotte's hand to stand and stretch. He'd pushed his chair back an inch and had pushed his arms up into the air when he heard _it._ A faint slurred, mumbling and he flicked his eyes to her face. "Charlotte?" he whispered.

Her head started to slowly twitch, her brows drawn deep and her mouth working hard as she tried to say something. "Charlotte?" Dean tried again. He flicked his eyes to the monitors and frowned. 107 glared at him and the screen flashed red and two staff rushed in. He stared, feeling his heart sink. One of the things he'd remembered the doctor saying was that a temperature of 107 was the worst, that there would be permanent damage. He just stared, unable to do anything else as he begged that number to disappear.

He didn't know how long he'd been watching the screen, eyes wide in fear, before Sam and Bobby entered. He turned to look at them and flicked his eyes back down to Charlotte's face. Small, choking gasps escaped her mouth and her head still twitched, her face screwed up. Dean lifted his eyes back up to the other two people in the room and he felt his eyes sting. Bobby stared at him and Dean could see the tears begin in the older man's eyes. Sam stared at the bed, his own eyes watering slightly and Dean slowly turned his attention back to Charlotte. The small choking gasps twisted her face into one of pain and her body shook with each one.

Then they stopped and so did everything else.

Dean's bottom lip quivered and he fell into his seat. He heard the faint sound of somebody sniffling, an angry "Son of a bitch" but he didn't give them his attention. He just stared as her face relaxed and her body went still against the bed. The doctors tried CPR for twenty minutes before they stepped back, letting the flat line ring around the room. The tears fell and Dean couldn't stop them, his eyes fixed on Charlotte's unconscious form as he slowly shook his head.

It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this just because of who she was. He felt his heart wrench more the longer he studied her face and he had to turn away with a sob, a hand on his face.

There was silence for several seconds after the doctors and nurses had stopped before he heard Sam mutter, "Guys?"

Dean lifted his head and he frowned when he caught Sam's face. He turned his head to see what his brother was staring at and he stared too. The temperature read 98 and the heart monitor showed a calm, even beat. "Charlotte?" Dean tried and he stood up, trying to get closer to the bed. Nothing. He looked up to Sam and Bobby and watched as they both inched towards the bed.

Then Charlotte sat bolt up and panted in heavy, deep breaths. Dean took an involuntary step back and studied her wide eyes that looked afraid. One of the doctors stepped forward, placing a hand on Charlotte's shoulder and she flinched, jerking her arm back and she sent one of the doctors flying to the floor. Her heart rate was loud and clear. It was high and fast and Dean could hear the doctors trying to tell Charlotte to calm down. She just panted, her eyes watching the doctors warily and Dean took a step forward. That caught her attention and she stared at him, her fingers curled tightly into the sheets on the bed.

But her heart wouldn't stop and after several seconds he listened to the monitor pitter out into an even tone once again. Charlotte slowly turned her head around the room and her eyes locked on Bobby's and Sam's and Dean watched her mouth fall open in shock.

"Charlotte?" one of the doctors said. She turned to face him and he smiled warmly, "Hi, I'm Doctor Harris, how are you feeling?"

Her mouth worked silently for several seconds before she frowned and mumbled a hoarse, "What do you think?"

"I need to ask you a couple of questions." Dean frowned as he watched a murderous look enter Charlotte's eyes. "Do you know where you are? Who these people are? Do you know what happened to you?"

"Sioux Falls General, family, and aren't you supposed to tell me that?"

The doctor smiled with a small laugh. "We'll let you rest for now but we'll be back in a short while to run a few tests, make sure everything's working fine."

The three hunters waited until the doctors were gone before Bobby closed the door and asked the question on everyone's mine. "What the hell happened?"

She shuffled back in her seat, a glare on her face as she picked at some of the wires that were attached to her. "I passed out."

Sam snorted, "Your body should have overheated and you should be dead."

"So what really happened?" Dean finished.

Charlotte sighed and kicked the sheets back. "Angels." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and eased herself to her feet next to Dean. "Those bastards are what happened. You know what," she stood up straight and turned to face everyone, "I was fine until they showed up. I was fine until they decided to piss with my life so if you want to ask anybody you ask them." She started towards the bathroom and Dean grabbed her arm. "I have to pee Dean, let go." He held his hands up and she closed the door behind her with a slam.

But she didn't move away from it. Her body shook and she felt the fear rise in her chest and the first few tears started to slide down her cheeks. She bit down on her lip and sunk to her knees, one hand over her mouth to muffle the sobs that wanted to shake her entire body. She sat there on the floor, silently sobbing into her hands as the last few thoughts replayed themselves in her mind.

_**Two Days Later**_

Bobby's house was quiet and the tension was driving Dean insane. Charlotte had barely uttered a word about what had happened, just telling them to blame the angels as she grabbed beer after beer and drank them like there was no tomorrow. Bobby had grabbed the bottle of bourbon that she'd reached for and told her she could have it and more beer when she talked.

So she'd shrugged and spent her entire time on her car, fixing the dent on the hood and the bent steering wheel, which surprised everyone. She hadn't even said a word about how that had happened, just cursed the angels and went about working on her car.

Sam had tried to talk to her, ask her if she was okay and she'd blown him off with a simple, "I'm talking and walking, what more do you need?" Bobby had all but threatened to kick her ass before he gave up, telling her that she'd best speak up soon or so help him.

And Dean had stayed away. He'd watched her glare at her car as she worked, listened to her curse and mumble and watched her kick at her car with a groan and slam on the hood of her car. He swore he saw something shake but he couldn't be sure from his spot by the back door. But he kept his distance and let her be. There was something inside of her that wanted to explode, he could tell that much and he did not want to be on the receiving end of that.

It was during the second night that Dean decided to approach her. Bobby had left with some urgent hunter business in Iowa whilst Sam had called it a night and took the couch. Dean sat at the large desk in Bobby's living, his eyes looking blankly at the pages, distracting him from everything. He lifted his head when he heard somebody enter and he watched Charlotte move straight to the small table in the kitchen and grab the bottle of whiskey somebody had left there. She didn't even glance at him before she moved back outside with it.

Dean stood and followed after her, putting his bottle of beer on the side as he left the house. He stood for a moment, watching her from the back door as she downed a third of the bottle before she sat down on the floor, her back slumped against the drivers door to the car. He watched her prop the bottle on her knee with a sigh before she took another few long swigs. He sighed and slowly walked over to her before he sat down next to her, his head resting against the car. He didn't say anything at first, just let the silence settle between them as he spread his legs out in front of him.

"You scared me," he whispered and he could feel her tense up next to him. He didn't turn to her as he spoke, "I thought you were going to die, again." He shook his head and licked his lips, "What happened?" He turned to face her and he studied her face.

Her eyes were fixed on the bottle in front of her for several seconds before she looked at him and said in her own whisper, "I thought I was going to die too." Dean raised his eyebrows slightly and waited for her to carry on. There was something else and she averted her eyes to the floor. She leaned her head back against the car he watched as she fought with something on her tongue. "I think I've changed. I think I put that dent in my car and bent the steering wheel."

Dean frowned. "What?"

She shook her head, her mouth quivering as she refused to look at him. "I- I can't, can't explain it. I just feel different, like I'm not me, but I am." She paused, her lips parted before she turned to stare at him, her eyes afraid. "I remembered what the angels did to me. I felt it," her voice started to crack with each passing word over her tongue, "the pain that they put me through when I was four years old!" Her eyes started to water and Dean reached a hand out to grab her thigh and squeeze gently. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? All he could do was watch and listen as she continued to speak, her brows drawn into a glare. The anger was coming back. "I was four years old and they, they-" she shook her head, took a breath and mumbled lowly, "they pulled me apart and put me together, just to see how I worked. They ripped my soul from my body, ripped that apart just to see what I was, then they put me back together to rip me apart again." There was a sob and Dean watched her knuckles begin to turn white. "I was _four. Years. Old._ Four."

He jumped a little when the bottle broke, glass and whiskey falling to the ground in a mess. Dean reached out and grabbed her hand between both of his, checking it over for any cuts. Satisfied he flicked his eyes up to her and cupped her cheek. He brought her face to his and kissed her gently, once, for a few seconds before he pulled away and wiped his thumb over her cheek and wiped away the tears there. "The angels suck and we'll kick their asses. Together." He smiled warmly at her and leaned over to kiss her nose before he stood up and reached his hands out for hers. "Come on. Let's get some rest and we can talk about this more tomorrow."

She nodded and let him lead her back into the house and up the stairs. She stayed close to him, one hand in his whilst her other latched onto his arm. In the sanctuary of her old bedroom she wrapped her arms around him and just clung to him, her face pressed against the crook of his neck. "Dean," she started, her voice breaking.

He nodded, rubbing a hand up and down her back soothingly. "Tomorrow," he whispered, pulling back just far enough to kiss her temple. He closed his eyes and welcomed the warmth that she was.

The silence lasted a few seconds before she kissed his neck. He frowned slightly as she kissed along his jaw and grabbed at the hem of his shirt. "Charlotte," he started, wrapping his hands around hers and pulling away to look at her.

She stared up at him with pleading eyes and easily tugged one of her wrists free to thread her fingers through his hair and grab the back of his neck. "Please Dean," she whispered, kissing his cheek, his nose and finally his mouth once. She pressed her body against his and he had no idea how she managed to slip her other hand underneath his shirt to tease his stomach with her fingers. "I need this."

He shook his head, trying to stand his ground. She traced her fingers over his chest and started to push him towards the bed. Her mouth worked on his jaw, his neck, teasing the skin with her teeth as she whispered, "Let me have this. I need it. Please. _Please_." He felt his legs hit the edge of the bed and he pulled away to stare at her, lust beginning to cloud his vision. "Please," she whispered, kissing him softly on the lips.

And he nodded.

She grinned and he felt shove at his chest, sending him falling back onto the bed. She climbed on top of him and he leaned up to kiss her, letting her hands undress them both before she pinned him down as they rode out their ecstasy's.

He had no idea how long they lasted before she collapsed on top of him, her arms around him and her head on his chest. He couldn't move and his body felt used like something he'd never felt before. All he could do was lay there and wrap his arms around her as he whispered, "I hate you."

He felt her grin against him as she kissed his chest and whispered, "I hate you too."


	12. 2008 November part 3

2008 – November

Part 3

_Nevada – Sun Valley_

Charlotte tapped her fingers against the new steering wheel, still uncertain about gripping it. When she'd told Sam about what she thought had happened he'd told her that he'd been trying to do some research. He'd found conflicting information, some saying that Nephilim were giants and unholy so God flooded the planet to rid of them. Other sources he found stated that they were the descendants of Seth. She'd told him that the bible was wrong about everything else, why not this, and he'd grinned and joked, "So should we be scared of you now?"

"You should've been scared of me anyway," she'd replied with a grin.

And Dean had told her to keep him posted with any more weird and freaky tricks and she'd bid them goodbye, telling them she had a blind date in Nevada.

27 hours later and she'd stopped at the local gas station, wondering what she was doing here. It was all she'd been given, a state and a city with no other explanation. She tapped her fingers against her steering wheel again, wishing for some kind of sign, anything. Eventually she climbed out of her car with a sigh, her eyes focused on the town in front of her. She closed the door, turned and jumped, screwing her eyes shut with a groan. "Don't do that."

Crowley shrugged a took a step back, "You've been avoiding my calls."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the gas pump. "Did I hurt your feelings?" She shook her head and watched the numbers go up as she topped the gas up. She dug one hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone to throw it to him, "Add yourself if you care that much. An Angel broke my other one."

Charlotte glanced at Crowley, watching as he gave her a look before he started pressing buttons on her phone. "If I may ask, what are you doing in this place?"

She shrugged and put the pump back. "I'll let you know when I know."

"Lilith won't wait forever," he started and he held her phone out as she passed him to open the door again.

"Yeah, I know," she opened the glove compartment and rifled through the contents for a few seconds before she pulled out a few bills. "But somebody keeps screwing with my car when I try to go anywhere, and somebody else is too scared to zap me there himself," she climbed out of the car and closed the door again to stare at Crowley.

"Well I'm sorry I value my life more than I value yours."

She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Whatever," before she said, "the Angels don't want me near her and I'm scratching my head to why."

She watched him frown and pushed past him to enter the small gas station. He followed after her, his hands in his pockets. "You mentioned that they _wanted _Dean in hell, maybe this is part of that."

Charlotte glanced at him as she grabbed a basket and started loading it up with snacks and water. "Please, enlighten me cause I'm struggling to see the bigger picture here."

"Why force Dean to take a trip downstairs if they're going to break him out months later?" Crowley said and she frowned at him, her mind trying to work. "Why wait?"

After a moment she stared at him, her mouth parted and eventually she said, "What do you know?"

"About what the Angels are planning?" He shrugged his shoulder, "Nothing."

"Crowley, if you want me to use that bullet on Lilith and _not_ you, tell me what the hell you know."

"Now that is not anyway to treat the guy who's been helping you out." She stared at him and waited. He sighed and glanced away from her, his hands in his pockets before he flicked his gaze back to her, "There's a rumour about the first seal."

Charlotte waited. When he didn't say anything else she shook her head at him, "What do they say about the first seal? What is it?"

Crowley licked his lips before he said slowly, "The first seal will break when a righteous man sheds blood in hell." She frowned, trying to understand how those words were relevant. After a few moments Crowley sighed and glared at her, "I thought you were smarter than that."

"I will hit you," she said, turning away from him to carry on putting things into the basket before she took them to the till to pay. When she picked up her bags and turned to face the room again Crowley was gone and she sighed. "I hate it when you guys do that."

She threw the bags into the back seat of her car, glared at the town and tried to figure out what was so special about this town. With a sigh she climbed back into her car and started towards the nearest diner. It took her a few minutes of turning down the same streets before she found one, pulled up and locked her car.

Inside the diner she took a seat in the corner so that she could take in the whole room. It was the same as every other diner she'd ever been in and nothing felt special about it. In fact, she felt like an idiot for coming here on nothing but a note. She sighed and ran hand over her face when a set of footsteps next to her table and a menu being placed in front of her grabbed her attention. Charlotte looked up and froze. "Matt?" she said.

She'd been trying to call him for weeks, apologise and ask him for help. And here he was with an apron, a notepad and pen in hand and a frown on his face. "My- my name's Daniel."

Charlotte stared, letting her eyes completely take him in. "It's me, Charlotte."

He shook his head, brows creased with confusion and said, "I don't know any Charlotte."

She stared up at him, feeling as though she just got sucker punched. "What?" she blurted.

He cleared his throat and thumbed a hand over his shoulder, "I'll er, I'll get somebody else to take your order."

"No," she started but he was already backing away, turning away from her and hurrying back to the main counter. She stared after him for a few more seconds before she blinked numbly down at the menu in front of her. Suddenly she'd lost her appetite and she pushed it away from her as she slouched in her seat. "The hell?" she whispered to herself.

A waitress appeared by her table with a wide smile as she said, "Hi, what can I get for you?"

Charlotte looked up at her and after a moment shrugged her shoulders, "Coffee and a cheese burger please."

"Would you like to double that burger for only an extra dollar?"

"Sure," she managed with a tiny smile, "why not?"

"Alright," she beamed down at her, "I'll bring you your coffee and your food should be ready soon."

"Thanks," Charlotte said and she waited until the waitress was gone before she pulled out her phone and dialled Dean's number. "Hey, are you two busy?"

There was a pause before Dean said, "A little. I was about to ask you the same thing."

She frowned, "Why what's wrong?"

"There's this Anna chick and she can hear the angels talking, hear what they say to each other and now the demons want her."

Charlotte raised her brows in surprise at that and shook her head, "You guys always get the fun cases."

"This is far from fun."

She managed a tiny smile as the waitress came back with a cup of coffee. "Thank you," she said to her before she glanced at Matthew talking to a couple of customers on the other side of the room. "Hey erm, can you ask her what the angels have been saying about Remiel?"

She could hear the frown in his voice, "What for?"

"I think they did something to him. Please?"

"Alright just hold on." She fingered the rim of her cup as she waited, listening in the background to muffled voices. "She's got nothing. What's going on?"

Charlotte shook her head and flicked her eyes back up to Matthew's back. "I don't know. I'll get back to you, just, keep Anna safe she sounds like she needs the help more than me." She hung up and sighed, forcing her gaze back to her coffee. He didn't recognise her and didn't even know his name. What had happened to him?

"So that's dear old Dad?"

She started and glared at Crowley. "Seriously?"

He continued to stare at Matthew before he looked back at her. "What? We're friends aren't we?" She rolled her eyes with a scoff and he raised his brows at her, "After all that we've done together? Those nights we shared?"

She jabbed a finger in his direction and leaned in to whisper lowly, "For the record, I was drunk and I don't remember _half_ of those nights."

Crowley smiled smugly and leaned back in his seat a little, "And those nights that you weren't drunk for? Are we forgetting about those?"

"I will shoot you," she threatened.

The waitress came over with her burger then and glanced at Crowley, "Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you, I'll be leaving in just a minute."

Charlotte waited until the waitress was gone before she snapped her eyes to Crowley, "What do you want?"

"I'm a curious fellow."

Charlotte grabbed her burger and glared at him, "Don't get any ideas. If you touch him, if demons get a whiff of him, I'll kill you myself." And she took a bite with her glare still in place.

Crowley watched her for a moment before he tilted his head to one side slightly and said, "You like to threaten me a lot."

"You're a demon. Don't you have demony things to do?"

He laughed once and nodded his head, "For the record, I know you enjoyed our nights together and I know that you wouldn't mind them again."

"Go to hell already," she mumbled with a shake of her head. When he disappeared she sighed and hung her head. She missed the simpler days.


	13. 2008 November part 4

**A/N:** Hey guys! I just want to thank you all for reading this and hope you enjoy the chapter. Remember, reviews are love. Thank you.

2008 – November

Part 4

_Nevada – Sun Valley_

Charlotte paced her motel room, a frown stuck on her face. Matthew was right here, serving coffee and food in some diner and he didn't even recognise her, didn't recognise his own name. She scrubbed a hand over her face and groaned, kicking herself. She'd yelled for Cas to get his ass down there and help her, she'd almost begged him to help her, but when he still hadn't showed his face after an hour she'd paced and cursed at the Trickster for just leaving her with nothing to go on.

"What am I supposed to do?" she muttered to herself. "Drag him out of here and force him to remember? How does an angel even forget they're an angel?" She turned her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head, "Come on. Somebody, help me out here." When she received no answer she nodded her head once, "Or not. Screw you guys too."

Eventually she sighed and grabbed her car keys. "Screw this," she muttered and she left her motel room to head back to the diner. She needed answers and she needed to know if this was her fault. She wrung her hands on the steering wheel and heard a faint creak of metal. "Dammit," she cursed, easing her grip. That was something she was still getting used to. She'd gotten stronger. She hadn't been able to really test how much stronger, but it was still something she had to get used to.

With a sigh she threaded a hand through her hair and tried to relax.

Outside of the diner she turned her car off and sat, staring into the windows. She could see Matt talking to the waitress that had served her. He seemed happy, laughing, smiling. She felt guilty about turning up again, about possibly trying to convince him to come with her for... she didn't even know what for. "Come on," she groaned, slamming her hand on the steering wheel. "What am I supposed to do?"

She watched Matt through the window for a few moments longer. She sighed, wishing she'd never come here in the first place. She perched her elbow on the window and cupped her chin in her hand. "What do I do?"

After five minutes she watched Matt make his way to the front door and Charlotte sat up a little straighter in her seat. She watched him leave and followed him with her eyes as he climbed into a car of his own and pulled out of the parking lot. She gave it a couple more minutes before she climbed out of her car and stepped into the diner again.

She took a seat by the counter and waited for the same waitress from before. "Hi," she said, "back already?"

Charlotte put on her best smile and said, "The food's too great to pass up." She glanced at the menu above the counter and said, "Can I get a lemon drizzle muffin please? With some coffee?"

"No problem."

Charlotte smiled and thanked her. She waited until she was halfway through pouring her cup before she decided to ask. "So, Daniel, he seems new to the place."

The waitress, Melinda now that Charlotte looked at her name tag, smiled a little awkwardly at her and finished pouring the drink. "He's been with us since the start of June I think."

Charlotte nodded and grabbed the handle of her mug. "Yeah? Just walked in?"

Melinda smiled warmly, "Yeah. Poor guy didn't know where he was going, what he was doing. Mr Jones, the boss, told him he could have the spare room out back and work off the rent."

"That's nice of Mr Jones."

Melinda nodded and beamed, "Well Daniel was just too kind with him and seemed a little too doe-eyed for the world. You know?"

Charlotte nodded and let the woman excuse herself to deal with another couple of customers. She sighed when she was alone and stared at the counter top. Since June. She kicked herself and begged somebody upstairs that this wasn't her fault.

_2008 – June _

Her mood was sour. Not only had somebody slashed the tyres on her car but a group of demons had tried to jump her, telling her that Lilith wanted to finish what she'd started. The demons were holding their punches, mocking her as she tried to get her footing in. But Sam had Ruby's knife and without a devil's trap or enough time and salt to put a line between them, Charlotte was as good as dead.

In the motel parking lot, under broken street lights, Charlotte tried to fight back, tried to get an exorcism in here and there but a hand across her throat sent her staggering back into her car and falling to the ground.

Then there had been a bright light and Charlotte had turned her beaten and bloodied face to see one of the demons bodies drop. There was another stream of light as another body hit the floor. The third and final demon took a step back and Charlotte watched Matt narrow his eyes at her. "Leave," he ordered and the demon wasted no time in disappearing.

Charlotte glared up at him for a few seconds. She watched him shorten the distance between them and hold his hand to her. "I'm fine," she croaked out, swatting his hand away to pull herself up. "I didn't need your help," she carried on, her voice hoarse and she rubbed her hand over the bruise she could feel forming on her throat.

"Charlotte," Matt started, looking sorry.

She shook her head and took a step away from him. "Don't. I don't want to hear it."

"Please-"

"No!" She snapped at him and her voice started to sound a little more normal. There was still a roughness to it as she spoke, "You tried to help plenty of times and where's that gotten me? Kidnapped by angels and riding shotgun in my own body with Lilith taking the wheel."

Matthew pursed his lips, his hands hanging limply by his side as he studied her face. Eventually he sighed and looked away. "You don't understand. Things aren't clear cut in heaven." She frowned at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He turned his face back to her and said lowly, "I was banished from heaven once, _for you, _everything I do is being watched and judged by the others."

Charlotte stared at him, her eyes narrowing into a glare and she took a step towards him. "So tell them to go screw themselves. It's what they deserve. Tell them they can take their crappy beliefs and shove them up their ass because when they screw with my life the way that they have, _you_ should've told them to go screw themselves. You shouldn't even care what they think any more!"

"I am an Angel."

"And you're supposed to my Dad too! That's what you like to remind me. So why don't you act like it and give them the middle finger? Help me rescue Dean from hell. Help me kill that white eyed bitch. Forget the angels and help _me_." There was silence and Charlotte glared at him. Matt didn't open his mouth again and Charlotte scoffed before she waved him off. "Just go. Go do whatever angel things make you happy, whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Charlotte," Matt started, reaching a hand out, "I care about you, more than I do about the angels. I've been trying to help you-"

She stepped away from him and shook her head. "I haven't asked for your help and I am not about to start asking now, so just go before you screw something else up."

He'd stared at her a moment longer before he nodded. "Fine, you want me gone, I'm gone. But I won't stop looking out for you. I won't stop looking over your shoulder but I will wait until you ask for my help and I will give it to you. Always."

There was a rustle of feathers and he was gone.

_Present Day_

She sighed and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and finger. "What am I doing here?" she whispered to herself. She grabbed her cup and sipped gently at her coffee, nibbling at her muffin in between sips. Something had happened. That much was obvious, but she just didn't know what.

Her phone rang and she let the tone distract her from worrying about how she was going to convince Matt that he was an angel at one point. "Hello?"

"Hey," Dean started and she raised a brow at his tone, "erm, can we talk?"

"What's up?"

There was a moment before Dean cleared his throat. "Did you know?"

She waited for him to elaborate and she raised her brows as she lifted her cup to her lips. "Did I know about what?"

"About what Sam did when I was in hell?"

She swallowed a mouthful of coffee and shook her head. That was a topic that hadn't come up much for anybody. "No, why? What'd he do?"

"Slept with Ruby. Told me everything, and I mean _everything_."

Charlotte laughed. "Need a mental scrubber?"

"Shut up. He slept with Ruby. _Ruby."_

Charlotte swallowed and cleared her throat. "Did he say why?"

"Well he says that she saved his life and that she had his back."

"Okay," Charlotte started and she fixed her eyes on her drink. "Dean, to be fair she has helped you guys out a lot. She fixed the Colt, saved you from Witches, risked her life to try to take out Lilith, I mean, there were worse demons to just up and sleep with."

There was silence for a few moments and she could hear the cogs in Dean's brain working. "You're not grossed out? At all? He slept with a black eyed, soulless demon, and you're not- who did _you_ sleep with?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "What? No-one."

"Who the hell did you sleep with?"

"I didn't get their names. A few guys, a few girls. Forgot their numbers too, if that make you feel better." She wanted to get off of that topic and fast. "Look Dean, he told you what he did. He didn't have to, he could've kept that to himself, about the sleeping with Ruby thing, but he didn't."

"So when are you going to tell me what _you_ did?"

"Kicked ass, had sex, drank beer. Need to know any more?" She could hear his eyes roll and she shrugged a shoulder, "So what's the deal with this Anna chick anyway?"

"We don't know yet. We still need to talk to her and figure it out. What's going on with Remiel?"

She laughed shortly and shook her head. "I don't even know. Somebody wiped his memories. I can tell you that."

"Angels?"

"I don't know. Maybe, problem is the angels don't ever want to talk to me." She let silence fill the line for several seconds before she cleared her throat, "I'll figure it out. Save this Anna person from the demons."

"Just, call if you need help."

Charlotte chuckled, "I will, bye Dean," and hung up with a sigh.

"What did you say your name was?"

She looked up and stared at Matthew. She glanced at the door, wondering when he'd come back and how she hadn't heard him. She looked back up at him and studied his curious, confused face for a moment before she said, "Charlotte Dixon, Winchester," she paused and shook her head with a sigh, "Dixon, Charlotte Dixon." That was something she needed to get used to as well but Matt wouldn't know about the marriage.

He frowned before he nodded slowly, his eyes travelling around the room once before they landed back on her. "And you say you know me?"

She opened her mouth and tried to say something before she closed it again and swallowed. He wouldn't believe her, would call her crazy if she started with the truth. "I did," she tried, "but we didn't part on the best of terms."

He nodded again and she could see his mind trying to process her words. "Earlier, you called me Matt?"

"Yeah, that's err, that's your name."

"Matt," he said, testing the name on his lips. "Matt. Short for Matthew?" She nodded and he repeated his name a few more times before he focused back on her. "How did I end up here?"

She frowned. "What?"

"How did I end up here? With no memories?"

She shook her head, "I was kinda hoping you could tell me."

He stared at her then and she wished she could take back all of the words she threw at him like acid. "I don't know. I just, I woke up on the side of the road and... nothing."

Charlotte frowned, her mind already thinking. "And you've had no trouble?"

Matthew shook his head with narrowed eyes, "Like what?"

"Just, I don't know, people coming after you?"

"No."

Charlotte stared at him, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be doing here when something finally clicked in her mind to why this was so wrong. There was no glow about him, nothing special. He looked like everybody else and not at all like an angel. Her lips parted in shock as she understood. He was human. He didn't have his angel powers and he just wasn't an angel.

"Holy shit," she mumbled to herself, "I'll kill those bastards." Anger started to pulse in her veins and she gritted her teeth. Under her breath she muttered, "I'm gonna rip their feathers from the frilly little wings one by one-"

"Is everything okay?"

Charlotte turned her eyes to Matt's boss and forced a smile onto her face. "We're good."

"Yeah?" Melinda said, and she placed a gentle hand on Matt's shoulder. "You sure about that?"

Charlotte frowned as she watched Matt's face twist into a wince. She started to stand but a hand on her shoulder attracted her attention and she turned to see an old gentleman glare down at her. She tried to shift his hand away but she couldn't move it and her eyes widened as she watched his eyes turn black. "Crap," she whispered.


	14. 2008 November part 5

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy.

2008 – November

Part 5

_Nevada – Sun Valley_

"Crap," Charlotte whispered.

Melinda chuckled, her own eyes black and Charlotte flicked her gaze to Matt. She could see him staring, wide eyed, with fear. "Mel?" he started and she winced at the shake in his voice, "Mel what are you doing?"

Melinda turned her eyes to him and he flinched. "Lilith wants to get her hands on an angel. We'll just have to settle for the next best thing, it's empty vessel." She stroked a hand through Matt's hair and he flinched again.

"Who's Lilith?" he started at a mumble, trying to back away, "Angels? Vessels?" He laughed disbelievingly and shook his head, eyes turning to Charlotte, the guy holding her in place and Melinda, "What are you talking about?"

Charlotte glanced at the hand on her shoulder and followed it to a set of black eyes that bored into her, watching her carefully.

"And the half angel too?" her attention snapped to Melinda who was grinning at her, "Well we couldn't resist that kind of deal now could we?"

Charlotte chuckled, and shook her head. "Or you're not taking us anywhere." The hand on her shoulder squeezed slightly and she bit down on the inside of her bottom lip to hide the wince. She didn't have a plan. She didn't even know how many others were demons. But with no weapon to kill them and a powerless angel, she just hoped she could stall long enough for somebody to notice or to come up with some kind of plan. _Come on freaky angel powers, now's a good time to kick in._

"And just what are you going to do about it?" Melinda's eyes flicked to the guy keeping Charlotte in her place and Charlotte groaned as he slammed her face against the counter and pinned her down in the new position. She grunted and tried to shift but the guy pressed her head harder against the counter. "Lilith wants you alive, to finish what she started, but she said nothing about you needing to be in one piece." Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Melinda nod and Charlotte felt her body jerk as it was pulled off the counter and thrown across the room.

Her back hit one of the tables and she fell in a lump on the floor, a groan leaving her lips. She managed to get her hands beneath her when there was a hand on the front of her shirt and she was lifted up and off her feet. "Hi there tall and ugly," she choked out with a wince. He snarled and her head snapped back from his punch, blood dripped from her nose and over her mouth. She'd just managed to roll her head forward when he punched her again and she could feel the bruise already starting around her eye. She groaned and finally lifted her hands to grab onto his. It did nothing as he brought a knee up to connect with her stomach and her feet were lifted off the ground for a few moments before he brought his fist down again to hit her cheek hard and send her crashing to the floor. She wriggled one arm underneath her with a grunt and had started to lift herself up when a foot in her stomach had her curling in on herself and grabbing her stomach as air left her lungs.

She coughed once, blood coating her lips. A few droplets decorated the floor and she stared at them, feeling the bruises already ache and call out on her body.

"Lilith knows about your plan to kill her," Melinda went on.

Charlotte groaned as she felt the front of her shirt being grabbed again and she was forced up onto her knees. The guy glared down at her and she lifted her chin with her own glare.

Melinda tutted and Charlotte watched Matt watch with wide, afraid eyes. "She knows you're working with a demon, so just tell us their name and we'll let you walk yourself to Lilith's feet."

Charlotte looked over in that direction, could see Matt's face twisted into fear with Melinda's hands wrapped around his arm, keeping him in place. She smiled, pretty sure there were spots of blood staining her teeth, but she carried on smiling and even started to laugh. "Oh you guys suck." There was a punch to her face and she groaned, screwing her eyes shut with a hiss. "You hit like a girl," she ground out between gritted teeth, staring up at the guy with venom in her eyes.

He hit her again, and again, and again.

"Just tell us their name Charlotte."

Her head lolled forward and everything hurt. Her cheek rested on the demon's hand as she tried to keep her vision focused. It would've been so easy to just tell them Crowley's name, so easy to say those two syllables, but she kept her mouth shut and stared up at the man holding her up.

She heard Melinda sigh and did her best to hold the guys gaze. She could feel the blood starting to dry on her face and knew that she was going to regret looking into a mirror when this was over. "Drop her."

She wasn't dropped but the demon gave her face another punch that sent her onto her back with a wince. She took shaky breaths and rolled to one side, lifting herself up slightly to watch Melinda grab Matt's cheeks between her fingers. "We'll just take it on him until you tell us."

"Please," Matt begged and Charlotte felt anger begin to boil, "Mel, let me go, let her go. This isn't you."

"This is pathetic," Melinda said.

Something cold brushed against Charlotte's fingers that were clutching at her stomach. She didn't break eye contact with the demon as Melinda grabbed one of the knives from the diner and pressed it against his cheek. Charlotte loosened her grip on her stomach to slowly curl her fingers down and wrap around something. She feigned a groan and tilted her head down to stare at a blade. She lifted her head and stared at the demons, at Matt before she gripped the blade hard, kept it pressed underneath her and sighed. "Alright," she said, "alright, I'll tell you."

Melinda smiled and nodded her head to the demon who had been beating her up. He grabbed her jacket and started to haul her to her feet. She waited until she was most of the way up before she thrust the blade into his stomach and watched a flash ripple through the body before he slumped to the floor dead.

Chairs scrapped back and Charlotte glanced at the four other patrons who stood, their eyes black. "Big mistake," Melinda growled.

Charlotte threw the blade quickly into the air, spinning it around so that she caught the blade end of the weapon and she pulled her arm back to throw it at Melinda's chest. It struck her and she watched as Matt backed into the wall with a jump and a yell.

There was movement to her left and she turned, felt her anger grow and felt something in her shift. She grabbed the fist before it struck and grinned when she felt the demon push against her. _There you are_, she thought to herself as she brought up her other first to punch the demon in the face, sending it stumbling back. A new wave of energy and strength washed over her and she drank this in. A pair of arms wrapped around her chest and squeezed. She pulled with a groan and watched a third demon approach. She jumped, lifted her feet up and kicked at its chest when he was close enough. That sent the second demon stumbling back and Charlotte threw her head back, connecting with his head and making her head bang all the more.

She ducked underneath a fist, felt something connect with her knees and fell. There was a hand at her throat and she grabbed the wrists with a hiss. It squeezed and she tried to pull his wrists away.

There was the sound of shuffling and she felt the fingers around her neck loosen as all eyes were drawn to the flashing body of a thirty something guy who collapsed in front of Matt, the blade in his hands. The two demons who were yet to go down turned towards him and he held it up in front of him, "Stay back."

Charlotte glanced at him, tried to glance at the blade and waited for him to get the message. She made a gesture with her hand and he got the message then, throwing the blade towards her. She threw a punch to the demon's stomach, delighted in the fact that he stumbled back a couple of steps and she reached for the blade inches from her, turned back and swung it up into his chest.

She yanked the blade back, turned and wasted no time in slamming it hard into the back of the third demon. It went down quickly and Charlotte watched the fourth one turn and start at her and she threw it up, striking the demon through his mouth. She twisted, pulled and watched the body fall with a heavy sigh.

Charlotte glanced around the diner, eyed the bodies for a moment as she tried to even out her breathing. She turned her eyes to Matt and nodded to the door. "We should go."

His eyes were fixed on the dead people and he stuttered, "But- but- what-"

Charlotte shook her head, "We need to go. Right now." She panted, one arm crossing over her stomach as she limped to the front door. She could hear Matt following her and made a direct line for her car. The blade was still clutched tightly in her hand and she eyed it carefully, wondering who had given it to her and silently thanking them. She opened the drivers side door and stared at Matt, "Get in," she ordered, not bothering to watch him as she climbed in and fell into her seat with a groan. Her entire body ached and she glanced at her reflection in the rear view mirror. "Shit," she whispered and she glanced at the passenger side as Matt climbed in sheepishly. "You okay?"

He stared at her, his eyes still wide. "Me? What about you?"

She glanced at the mirror again, wincing at the cuts across her lips, cheeks, eyes, chin and head and the blood that decorated her face. "I'm fine," she said, pushing the mirror away from her as she threw the blade onto the dashboard. She started the car and dug around in her pocket for her phone, dialling as she drove. She glanced at Matt and said, "I've got some explaining to do, but I've got a friend who can hopefully help. Hopefully she'll be able to tell us something." The line answered and Charlotte did her best to keep her voice even as she said, "Pamela? Hi, it's Charlotte, can I ask a favour... what? I'm on my way. Think you can last a day there?" She glanced at Matt and tried to ignore the guilt that was weighing heavily on her stomach. "I'll fill you in when I get there. Thank you." She dropped her phone next to the angel blade and sighed, flicking her gaze to Matt again. "I guess you want some kind of explanation to what's going on right?"

"Yeah."

The next hour Charlotte explained about angels, about Remiel and her parents, about demons and about Pamela and the Winchesters. He asked a few questions here and there but mostly he sat in silence. She'd broken that for the last twenty minutes with the radio when he suddenly spoke, "This, _demon_, you're working with. Why risk your life for him?"

She held his gaze for a moment, trying to sort through the muddle that was a headache and her thoughts before she turned back to the road and tightened her grip on the steering wheel slightly. "Because," she started and she stopped. _He never lied to me. He's been honest since the start. He's never tried to kill me. Hasn't back stabbed me _yet_. _She sighed and wrung her hands slightly, "because unlike every other creature out there he's trying to help me kill Lilith and stop Lucifer from rising while the angels would rather see Lucifer dancing over our dead bodies."

"What about these Winchesters? Don't you trust them?"

She ground her teeth together and muttered, "It's complicated. Dean went to hell and Sam did his own thing. Sam hunted, I hunted and Dean he- he burnt, for months he was tortured in hell." She shook her head and bit down hard on her bottom lip. The very idea of what happened to him had been something she'd tried to avoid, tried to keep out of her mind. "Demons get off on breaking," she frowned, the anger slipping from her voice and her next word was spoken in a whisper, "people."

_The first seal shall break when a righteous man sheds blood in hell_.

"He didn't," she whispered to herself, shaking her head, her body starting to feel numb.

"Charlotte?" Matt whispered.

She pulled over to the side of the road and drowned him out as she thought it over, thought over Crowley's words and the implication behind them. The angels had wanted Dean in hell, to break the first seal then break him out? She shook her head, not wanting to believe that the angels jump started the apocalypse by making sure Dean went to hell and nobody else. She thought it over and tried to come up with a reason to why they would need him back upstairs. Along with that she tried to reason that he hadn't, he couldn't have done that. Right? She gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She wasn't angry, she couldn't be. He was in hell, tortured day in and day out, the hours blending into days. She couldn't be pissed that he gave in. He'd been tired of the world before he'd gone down and she bit her lip. He had an excuse, she didn't.

"Charlotte?"

She schooled her features and turned the car back onto the road. "What?" she muttered.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, fixing her eyes on the road. "I'm fine."

He didn't say anything else and she let the sound of the radio fill the silence for the next hour before she pulled into a service station. She grabbed a towel from the back of the car and told Matt to stay whilst she went and cleaned her face up. She thanked whoever that the bathroom was empty as she ran warm water and dipped the towel into it before wiping at her face. The water ran deep red and the towel was quickly turning a nice shade of red the more she wiped. She winced with each brush of the towel on her face but once the blood was gone she turned the tap off and sighed, eyeing the damage to her face. Her left eye was partially closed and her cheek was puffed up slightly, the cut painfully obvious. There was a nice black eye starting to form on the right and the red tinge to her skin from the pain wasn't nice. She licked her lips and hissed as she ran her tongue over the cut that covered both lips. Add the bruise that was starting to cover her jaw and the way her nose hurt whenever she pulled any kind of facial expression and she knew the questions were not going to be nice when she made it back to Bobby's.

She sighed, dumped the towel in the bin, bought some food, ignored the looks from the cashier and went back outside. She handed the bag to Matt as she turned her car on and left, heading straight for South Dakota. Nineteen hours later and she pulled up to Bobby's house. The sun was cracking the horizon and she was spent. Matt was asleep in the passenger seat and she smiled sadly at how peaceful he looked. It almost hurt her to disturb him, but she reached out and gently shook his shoulder. He stirred and she nodded to the house, "We're here. Come on."

She left him to wake up, grabbed her phone and the blade and climbed out of the car. She shoved the phone into her pocket, stretched, yawned and moved to the trunk of her car to throw the blade into it. Just as she was about to close the trunk of the car she paused and grabbed the blade again. Maybe Pamela could tell her something about it. She closed the trunk, scrubbed the heel of her hand over her eyes and winced. Inside, it was quiet and dark and she left the door open and stopped. Sam was curled up on the couch fast asleep whilst Dean blinked up at her with a frown. Matt followed her in and Dean's eyes moved from her to Matt and back again. His eyes moved to Sam and he nodded his head to the back door and Charlotte sighed. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable," she whispered to Matt and she slipped the blade into his hands with a quiet, "Don't lose it," and followed Dean outside.

They walked between the cars, the world still asleep and the shadows only just starting to be chased away. When they were far enough away from the house Dean turned and his eyes examined her face. "The hell happened?"

She sighed and shook her head slowly, "Demons were after Matt."

Dean furrowed his brows and flicked his eyes to the house. "Why?"

"He used to be an angel, that's good enough for Lilith."

Dean's eyes were still examining her face and she pulled back slightly when his hand reached out and cupped her chin. She sighed and leaned her head into his touch as he stroked a thumb over her cheek. "You look like hell."

She grinned at him, "I feel like hell."

He gave a short chuckle before he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to each wound on her face. She closed her eyes and welcomed the soft touches, sighing gently. The last kiss was to her head and she opened her eyes as he said, "How many were there?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand down to hook her fingers between his. She stepped into his personal space and shook her head, "Who cares. I kicked ass and lived to tell about it. Now, where are you guys with this Anna chick?"

Dean didn't step back, just wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. He shook his head with a disbelievingly sigh, "An Angel who ripped her grace, her angel-ness, from her body."

"That's possible?"

He tilted his head to one side and pressed his hands against her waist, his thumbs making circles across her skin. "Apparently. But guess who else wants her dead besides the demons?"

Charlotte shook her head and frowned, "Who?"

"Angels."

"Why?"

"Cause she wanted to be human."

Charlotte scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Didn't realise we were that bad."

"Well, I am, you're not."

She punched his arm lightly with a smirk, "Shut up Winchester, I'm still human."

Dean grinned and caught her mouth in a slow kiss, pulling her closer against him. He sighed and she settled her face into the crook of his neck, just taking him in. She didn't realise how much she'd needed this after everything, after the worrying, the fighting, everything. She just needed to hold somebody. She closed her eyes and sighed, just holding onto him. "So what's the plan?" she whispered.

"The plan," Dean started with a deep breath, "we're going to Kentucky tomorrow, see if we can find her grace. Then, you and I are going to sit down and talk."

She swallowed nervously and pulled away from him to study his face. "About what?"

"About those months," he said, his brows furrowed. "What you did when I was in hell, about what I did in hell. Everything. I want us to start fresh, clean, no more dancing around, no more crap. Just, simple honest truth."

Charlotte chewed on the inside of her bottom lip and felt Dean's thumb trace the line of her bottom lip. "When you get back," she whispered, her heart pounding. She didn't want to know, didn't want her theories confirmed about what happened in hell. She most certainly didn't want to tell him about what she'd done, about how she'd gotten the colt and why she had it. But she nodded, giving in to what Dean wanted as she pressed her mouth against his gently with a soft sigh. "When you get back," she confirmed.

He nodded his head and tilted it towards the house. "Come on, let's get some sleep. You look like hell."

She smiled softly and followed behind him. "Yeah."

She ended up sleeping on the floor of the library, Dean behind her whilst Matt had fallen asleep in the library's chair. Sam had woken first, taken a look at the scene and frowned. He looked out of the window to see her car there and raised his brows. He was surprised he hadn't woken up. He stretched and stepped over Charlotte's outstretched arms, a frown on his face as he noticed the bruising and cuts on hers. He sighed and started to make some coffee when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

He turned and smiled warmly at Anna, a finger on his lips. He pointed to the other room and she nodded joining him in the kitchen. "I didn't hear anybody come in."

"Me neither. That's Charlotte on the floor, and that's Matthew I think, in the chair, or Remiel." Sam frowned and grabbed two cups.

"Charlotte and Remiel?" Anna echoed and she turned to face the library.

Sam raised his brows, taking note of her shocked voice. "Yeah, you know them?"

He watched Anna carefully, noting the familiarity in her face as her mouth opened in shock. "Yes," she turned her head to Sam and he could see the pleading in her eyes. "I need to get out of here."

"Why?" Sam started and he noticed movement in the other room. He turned to watch Charlotte stretch, make a small noise, roll over and burrow herself against Dean's side. He grunted in reponse, wrapped an arm around and carried on.

"Sam, please, she cannot see me."

He frowned, still not getting why when it occurred to him. Anna used to be an angel and he stared between her and Charlotte. "What did you do?"

Anna shook her head and took a step away from the library. She focused her eyes on the floor as she whispered, "I had orders." She took a breath before she turned back to Sam and said, "Orders to-" she shook her head and sighed, "I was ordered to kill her mother."


	15. 2008 November part 6

**A/N:** We'll get away from November I promise. For now, enjoy and let me know what you guys think? Please leave a review.

2008 – November

Part 6

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Sam stared at Anna, his mind still processing her words. It took him a few moments to glance toward the library and back to her. "You killed her mother?"

Anna shrugged and moved to stand next to Sam by the counter. She kept her voice at a whisper as she spoke, "Not me personally but I gave the final order to another angel." Her eyes drifted to the chair Matthew was curled up in, his cheek pressed against the rickety, wooden top of it. She sighed and nodded her head to him. "He killed five angels that day," her eyes trickled towards Charlotte and she nodded again, "for her. At the time I was following orders, like we were supposed to do." She turned her attention back to Matthew and sighed, "I guess part of the reason I fell was his love and devotion to Charlotte."

Sam frowned, his gaze wavering from the library to Anna and back. He didn't know what to do or say. What was he supposed to say? He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he glanced back to Anna. "Does she remember?"

Anna's attention turned to Sam and she furrowed her brows slightly. After a moment she started to shake her head before she sighed. "I don't know. There's every chance the angels wiped that part of her memory."

"But?"

"But there's every chance Remiel gave her the memories back. It's impossible for me to say."

Sam glanced back at the library, at Charlotte. He watched as he shifted, turning to lie on her stomach with her arms beneath her head whilst Dean turned away from her. "Why?"

Anna frowned as she looked at Sam. "Excuse me?"

"Why'd you kill her mother?"

Anna's mouth opened and closed for several seconds before the sound of footsteps on the stairs interrupted her. Pamela appeared, a smile on her lips as she glanced around the two rooms. When her eyes landed on Sam and Anna she raised her brows and said lowly, "Well this looks like bad news."

Anna ducked her eyes and Sam cleared his throat as he shifted a little. "Coffee Pamela?"

Pamela folded her arms over her chest and nodded, "Of course." Her eyes shifted between the two of them and she said, "Now what were two talking about that looks like the end of the world?"

Sam glanced at Anna and licked his lips before he said, "Anna's responsible for killing Charlotte's mother."

Pamela raised her brows and stared at Anna before she glanced over her shoulder to where Charlotte lay sleeping. "She know that?"

"We don't know," Sam said.

All three of them froze when they heard rustling of fabric and the sound of somebody shifting. Sam relaxed a little when he saw Dean lift his head, glance at Charlotte and sit up before he stretched, scratching the back of his head. Dean stood, grabbed his pants and pulled them on before he turned to face the kitchen and three sets of eyes. He frowned and ran a hand through his mused hair. "What?"

"Nothing," Pamela said and she gave Sam a look before she nodded her head to Anna. "Shouldn't you boys be trying to find Anna's grace already?"

"Right," Dean said and he stretched again before he nodded his head in her direction. "You ready to leave?"

Anna nodded with pursed lips, her eyes glancing to the library again. "Whenever you are."

Dean nodded and ran a hand over his face before he thumbed a hand over his shoulder. "Give me five minutes."

Sam nodded and watched his brother move back to Charlotte and gently shake her shoulder. He turned his attention to Pamela but she held a hand up and whispered, "Get her out of here. The last thing we need is Charlotte waking up and remembering and wanting to kill you." She nodded her head to the front door with a tight smile, "Go. I need to talk to her anyway."

Sam smiled and nodded, "It was great to see you again Pamela."

Pamela grinned and chuckled, her head turning to follow Sam's ass towards the door. She spanked it as he passed and said, "Great to see you too Sam." She watched Dean and Charlotte whisper, watched the younger woman drag him down by his neck for a quick kiss and murmured words before Dean kissed her head and stood again.

When Dean noticed her looking he frowned and mumbled a low, "What?"

Pamela held her hands up and shook her head with a smile, "Nothing. Just watching you two kids."

Dean kept his frown in place before he shook his head and shrugged, "Whatever. You need a ride or-"

"Charlotte will sort that out for me."

"Alright, well, thanks for everything."

Pamela nodded and nodded her head to the door. "Go, save the angel." Dean nodded and Pamela watched him quickly dress, get ready and leave. She waited until she couldn't hear the rumble of the Impala anymore before she stepped into the library and bent down by Charlotte. "Charlotte sweetie, up and at em." Charlotte shifted with a mumble of five more minutes and Pamela slapped her hand onto her shoulder. "Come on kid."

Charlotte lifted her head with a groan and blinked tiredly up at Pamela. She turned her head over her shoulder and glanced at Matthew sat in the chair, still asleep. "What time is it?"

"About eight. What happened to your face?"

Charlotte rolled onto her back and stretched. "Demons." She yawned and rubbed her face with her hands. She winced and shrugged a shoulder, "But I walked away."

Pamela stood back up and looked over at the chair. "Matthew!"

He jumped, his eyes snapping open and his body flailing a little in his seat. "What?"

Pamela chuckled and nodded her head to the couch. "Get your pretty ass on that couch. I want to get a feel for the kind of person you are."

Charlotte climbed to her feet and stretched again. "Just don't make a move on him, he's still my dad."

"Biologically speaking," Pamela said, a smile on her lips, "but you don't actually see him as your father, which makes him fair game for me."

"Eww," Charlotte whispered with a grimace and she moved to the kitchen, "no kissing or groping. Just answers."

Pamela chuckled as she watched Matthew take a hesitant seat on the couch. Pamela smiled warmly and grabbed a chair, pulling it up to him. "Hi sweetie, my name's Pamela and I'm a psychic. Charlotte tells me you're having a little memory trouble?"

Matthew nodded, glancing at Charlotte who was pottering around in the kitchen. "Yeah, I err, I don't know much then there were these, these demons I don't-"

"Shh," Pamela said with a warm smile still in place. She waved a hand to the couch, "Just lie down and relax okay?" Matthew nodded and frowned, his eyes moving to the kitchen before he lied back down on the couch.

Charlotte fixed herself a cup of coffee, listening to Pamela talk all the while. She turned around to see how it was going when there was a hand on her mouth. She froze, almost dropping the cup in her hand, to see Zachariah smirking at her. She stared, wide eyed and tried to think about where that damn blade was from yesterday. She'd left it with Matthew and left herself defenceless. Zachariah grinned and placed a finger to his lips before he grabbed her shoulder. In the next moment she was in the middle of an empty road, coffee cup still in hand and Zachariah released her then. "Who told you where to find him?"

"Bite me," she growled, already looking for any kind of sign to where they were.

Zachariah chuckled and shook his head. "All I want is the name of the angel who told you to find him. Just one name."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and shrugged a shoulder. She took a sip of coffee and winced at how hot it was before she said casually, "And as I said, bite me." She smiled widely at him, innocently raising her brows and daring him to make a move.

He met her gaze for a moment before he smiled. "So you get your angel mojo back and you think you can do what you want?"

She rolled her eyes with a groan, "Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're a dick who's already killed me once. At least, as far as I remember."

Zachariah fixed her with a look and tutted. "Do you want to know why we had to kill you?" She rolled her eyes and sipped the coffee, now that it was cool enough to drink. "What we do, is bigger than you. Everything you do for some reason interrupts the bigger picture."

Charlotte pointed a finger at Zachariah and raised her brows, "You mean like sending Dean to hell? Making sure it was _him_ and not _me_? You needed him to break the first seal didn't you?" She narrowed her eyes with a knowing smirk. "How does it go again? 'The first seal shall break when a righteous man sheds blood in hell.' And let me guess, Dean shed blood, broke the first seal and you guys all cheered like the bastards you are." Her last few words drowned off into a snarl and she glared now. "I don't give a crap about the bigger picture, about you wanting to raise Lucy from the pit. I don't give a crap about you guys. What I do give a crap about is you _using_ my _family_ to do your dirty work!"

There was silence. Charlotte glared, her hand curling harshly around the cup still in her hand. She dared Zachariah to make a move, to start _something_.

"Just give us the name," he said eventually, his tone implying that he hadn't heard a thing she'd said.

She glared and growled out a low, "Bite me. You ugly bastard."

Zachariah stared at her for a moment before he chuckled and stepped forward. Charlotte almost, _almost_ stepped back, but she steadied herself and forced herself to stay where she was. "We'll get the answer out of you, one way or another."

"With torture? I thought you guys were high and mighty, not pathetic like demons?"

She stumbled from the punch, the cup slipping from her grasp as she grabbed her cheek. All of the muscles started to ache again and she gritted her teeth. "You really should show us some respect," Zachariah said as he took another step forward.

Charlotte backed up this time but he was faster. He grabbed her throat with one hand and in the next moment pushed her back. She grabbed her throat and rubbed at the sore muscles for several seconds before she finally looked at the room she was in. Zachariah turned his back on her and took several steps around the place. "Until you tell us what we want to here, you're to stay here. Alone. No in, no out and no reception on your phone to call Dean or Sam."

And he was gone.

She waited several seconds before she took a tentative step into the room and said, "Zach? Zachariah?" She gave the room another look and noticed a couple of doors. She stormed over to them and tried them, groaning when she found them locked. "Come on," she mumbled, willing her angel side to help her out. But they wouldn't budge and she couldn't see any other way out. "Crap," she whispered to herself.

Matthew sat up, his breathing hard as Pamela brought him back to the room, back to reality. "I remember," he whispered.

Pamela smiled and sat up straight in her chair. "Good to hear, _Remiel." _

Remiel nodded his head and swung his legs over the side of the couch. "Thank you Pamela," and he frowned, "but I still don't know what happened to my grace."

She shrugged, "One thing at a time buddy. Right now the Winchesters are helping Anna get her grace back then I'm sure they'll do something for you."

He grinned and nodded, swinging his head towards the kitchen. He frowned and turned back to face Pamela. "Where's Charlotte?"

Pamela followed his gaze and muttered, "I thought she'd stepped out for some air. Poor girl had been beaten badly."

He nodded. "The demons that came for me." He stood and moved straight for the back door of Bobby's house. Outside he saw nothing but cars and he frowned. "She's not here."

Pamela frowned confused at him and pursed her lips. "I'll try her phone." Several seconds passed and Pamela shook her head when all she received was Charlotte's voicemail. "I can't get through."

Remiel frowned in thought for several seconds as he stared at Charlotte's makeshift bed on the floor. She wouldn't have just walked out and left, especially not without her car. He gritted his teeth and shook his head. "Angels. It's gotta be them. They haven't liked her since day one and now," he shook his head.

"Would another angel be willing to help us out?"

Remiel shook his head and stood up, his brows furrowed. "If I can work out who led her to me then we have a chance but nobody would risk their wings for her and especially not for me. I've already been kicked out of heaven once and now I'm human." He scoffed and shook his head, "A graceless angel is a useless angel."

"I call the Winchesters, we'll figure this out."

Remiel nodded as he watched Pamela's back. "I hope so," he whispered, silently praying that somebody was listening to him and willing to help him, "I hope so."


	16. 2008 November part 7

**A/N:** I am so sorry this has taken too long to get up. I'm on some painkillers that seriously zap my ability to stay focused and zaps my creativity. From now on though I am going to try to post weekly, every Wednesday. Please, enjoy this long chapter and remember to leave a review.

2008 – November

Part 7

_Kentucky – Union_

Dean stared after Sam, Anna and Ruby, Pamela's words still winding themselves around in his mind. "What?" he blurted, still struggling to understand. He'd stopped walking when he'd received the call but now he was frozen to the spot.

"Remiel thinks the angels have something to do with it," Pamela said.

"Why?" he looked back to the trio who gathered around the tree that Anna's grace built. That didn't look like good news either and he groaned, running a hand over his face. He shook his head and took a step away from them. "And you can't find her with your psychic stuff?"

"Take care of Anna, we'll worry about Charlotte."

Dean shook his head and sucked in his bottom lip with a frown. How could he not worry? How could he keep calm about the fact that demons and angels wanted Anna whilst the angels were also doing something to Charlotte. He closed his eyes and took a breath before he nodded once. "Fine, find her. I don't care how, just find her. And _don't_ tell Bobby." He hung up, his hand clenched around his phone to try to calm himself. The angels had Charlotte. He gritted his teeth and turned to see Sam, Anna and Ruby walk towards him and he forced himself to stuff his phone into his pocket and wipe the irritation and worry off his face. "Well?"

"It's not there," Anna said with a slow shake of her head. "Somebody's taken it."

Dean stared at her for a moment before his eyes widened and he pointed a finger at her. "Don't you dare say angels."

Anna shrugged. "It could be angels, it could be somebody else."

"So," Ruby started, looking between the group, "where do we go from here?"

Charlotte kicked at the door again, and again, and again. "Come on!" she shouted before she kicked it again. The wooden door refused to budge even an inch and she groaned as she slammed her hands into it. The door clicked open and she grinned as she pushed it open and stepped through. Her grin slipped from her face and she turned around to see a blank wall. Slowly she turned back to the face the same room she'd just left and she groaned. "You guys are a bunch of dicks!" she yelled at the ceiling as she stepped back towards the table in the centre of the room. She grabbed the top of one of the chairs and curled her hands around it. "Come on Cas," she whispered, "you've gotta be hearing me right? Get your ass down here and get me the hell out." She held her breath and after a moment added, "Please?" There was no rustle of feathers or fabric and she hung her head with a sigh, her eyes screwed shut.

Sam eyed his brother as he drove. Music filled the silence in the car as they drove to the barn they'd been using to rest up, but Sam could sense that something was wrong. Dean had been different since the phone call. He let it be until they pulled up and asked Ruby to take Anna inside. When both of them were out of earshot he turned to his brother, "Who was on the phone?"

Dean gave him a look before he looked back at the barn. "Pamela. Remiel or Matthew, or whatever his name is, remembers being an angel. Hooray for him."

There was a bitter tone to his last three words and Sam caught on to it. "What else did she say?"

Sam watched Dean's jaw tighten a moment before he flicked his eyes to Sam, not quite meeting his gaze, "Nothing."

"Dean?"

"What?"

Sam stared at his brother but he wasn't meeting his look and Sam bit his lip. "What else did Pamela say?"

Dean slowly glanced up at Sam, his look bleak as he said, "Angels have got Charlotte," before he looked away again. "Pamela and Matt are doing all that they can to find her. Told us to focus on Anna."

"Dean."

Dean shook his head with a quiet scoff, "She's a big girl Sammy, half angel, weird and wacky powers," he looked back up at him and Sam could see the worry creeping into his eyes, "she'll be fine." He shook his head and nodded to the barn. "Anna needs our help right now."

"You know," Sam said as he moved to stand next to his brother, "you don't have to be here. I can handle this with Ruby."

"And what am I supposed to do? I don't know where to look. Pamela can't find her with her psychic stuff, Matt's human. Besides, the way I see it, the angels want Anna, she'll bring them right to us and we can ask them what the hell?"

"So now we're using Anna as bait?"

Dean stared at him with a frown. "They're coming for her no matter what. You got a better idea?"

Sam shared a look with his brother and said, "And how do you supposed we trap them? We don't know anything about them, about how to kill them, what weakens them." Dean continued to stare at him and Sam frowned, tilting his head slightly. He opened his mouth and after a moment said, "Tell me you're not-" Dean ducked his eyes and Sam scoffed, "we are not trading Anna for Charlotte."

"I don't like the idea anymore than you."

"They're going to kill her."

"You don't think I know that? You said it yourself, we don't know anything about them, how to kill them, trap them, anything. I'm all out of ideas." Sam opened his mouth to say something but Dean shook his head and waved him off. "Last case," he said before he started towards the barn.

Sam sighed as he stared after his brother. He waited until Dean had disappeared inside before he grabbed his phone and dialled Pamela's number. "Hey Pamela it's Sam, any luck with finding Charlotte?"

There was a pause before he heard her let out a breath, "I wish I had good news for you both."

"Well what about Matt?"

"In case you hadn't heard hot stuff he's normal, _human_ normal. He's trying to find somebody to listen to him but nobody seems to be biting."

Sam sighed and nodded his head. "Keep trying."

"How's Dean doing anyway?"

Sam shook his head with a tight smile. "Not good but he's err, not showing it so, yeah."

"Keep an eye on him."

"I will do, thanks." He ended the call and stared at the barn once more. They needed to come up with a plan, and fast.

Charlotte had paced, kicked at chairs, slammed her hands on the table and even threw the stuff that was on that to the floor only to see the room correct itself moments later. She threw herself into a chair, curled her arms onto the table and pressed her head against her arms. She didn't know what to do and she was alone. Nobody was coming and she had no way of knowing if anybody knew where she was. She closed her eyes and tried to think.

The Trickster.

That's all she had and it wasn't exactly a name. The more she thought about it and the extremes the angels were going to to find out who he was, the more she frowned. Something wasn't quite right. She lifted her again, frown still in place, and moved her lips as she thought to herself. He was an angel. The angels wanted to know who he was. But the angels knew a lot, such as Cas knowing about the colt in her trunk and Remiel knowing about her working with Crowley. They knew things, so why not his name unless...

He didn't want them to know. She ducked her head and stared at the table. If the angels didn't know who he was, but he was walking around free as a bird around Earth, they'd want to know who he was so that they could stop him. Right? She paused at that thought and retold herself that same line. There couldn't have been many, if _any_, angels that could just up and leave heaven right? Which meant that he wasn't some regular winged dude, but somebody high up in the ranks, higher than a lot of the angels she'd met so far. But how high was high?

Dean stepped out and made his way towards his car with a frown. They had a plan, but it was by chance that it would work. Add onto that the fact that his mind was filled up with the memories of hell, which the angels were promising to throw him back into if he didn't hand Anna over, and his thoughts of Charlotte being held captive for whatever reason by other angels, and Dean was feeling crowded in that barn.

Once he made it to his car Dean glanced back in the direction of the barn and nodded his head. He sighed, shook his head at what he was about to do and glanced up to the sky. "Cas? You getting this? I need to talk to you."

There was a flutter of wings and Dean turned to see Castiel staring at him with that same look of deep concentration. He tilted his head to one side slightly, narrowed his eyes a fraction and said, "Is this about Anna?"

He stared at the angel for a moment longer before he shook his head. "Where's Charlotte?"

Cas' eyes narrowed further into a deep frown and he tilted his head forward, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dean took a step closer to Cas and glared. "Where have you bastards got her? Is that any clearer?"

Cas continued to frown at him before he slowly lifted his chin and stated, "She's missing." There was a pause before he said, "And you think _we've_ taken her." Dean refused to say anything and waited for Cas to carry on. "Dean," Cas started carefully, "_if_ the angels have taken her, what would they want with her?"

"You tell me," Dean challenged. Cas tilted his head back slightly, frown slipping back into place. "You guys are so intent on murdering her every other week, you tell me."

Cas stared at him, eyes still narrowed, before he said, "I have no idea where your girlfriend-"

"Wife."

"-_wife_, is." Dean glared at him a little longer, the muscles in his jaw tensing. "You have until the morning," Cas went on, "to hand Anna over or we will throw you back to damnation." And with that he disappeared.

Dean scoffed and glared up at the sky. "You son of a bitch," he muttered and he pressed his hands against the surface of the Impala's trunk, digging his fingers in to try to ease the anger that was bubbling up.

"I wouldn't blame you." Dean jerked his head up to see Anna stood a few feet away. She smiled softly at him and came to stop next to him. "If you handed me over, I wouldn't blame you. You've already done a lot for me, both of you."

Dean whacked a smile onto his face and waved a hand at her as he said, "Stop. You can thank me when this is all over, not before. And who said anything about handing you over?"

Anna raised her brows at him and settled a hand on his arm. "I know that they have Charlotte and even if you offered a trade, me for her, I wouldn't blame you." Dean frowned and she smiled, "Sam told me."

Dean sighed and shook his head, "Nobody's trading anybody. No matter what."

"Even for you_ wife_?"

"You heard that?"

She nodded, her smile still in place. "And as I said, if you offered a trade, I wouldn't blame you. I'd understand. They're angels, you're human."

Dean stared at her, his face twisted into one of curiosity before he shook his head again. "And I wouldn't be able to live with myself, no matter who or what I was trading." He smiled gently at her and settled a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it gently and said, "No matter what, that's just not who I am."

Anna nodded and Dean felt her take a step towards him. "If I can add my thoughts to this stupid plan you guys have already come up with," Dean smiled with a nod, "tell them you want to trade."

Dean frowned. "What?"

"Tell them they can have me when you get Charlotte."

Dean stared at her for a little longer before he shook his head. "Cas said he doesn't know anything about it. He seemed surprised when I told him about it."

"Maybe he doesn't know anything, but maybe Uriel does."

Dean frowned. "I thought all angels knew the same things."

Anna smiled tightly at him. "No. Everyone has their job, their role to play. Some are leaders and others just follow."

"So what was _your_ job?"

Charlotte groaned. She'd told the angels she'd wanted to make a deal and Zachariah had appeared again. She didn't have a name but she told them that she promised to stop chasing after Lilith, which seemed to be something they'd wanted. He'd told her that that wasn't what they wanted and she'd almost launched herself at him. "I don't have a fucking name!"

But he'd disappeared and she'd growled into the air. She gave it a couple of minutes before she grabbed one of the ornaments from one of the shelves and smashed it against the top of the table. She groaned as she used one of the pieces to deeply slice her hand open and start a trail of thick blood going. She flicked her eyes back up to the room and mumbled, "This will get your attention you dicks." She rushed towards one of the walls, ignoring the thick drops of blood that followed behind her, dipped two fingers from her fine hand into the blood and started to draw the angel banishing sigil on the wall.

She'd just finished the last symbol that completed the sigil when a hand on her shoulder dragged her away from the wall and slammed her against a clean part of the wall, well out of arm's reach. One angel pinned her to the wall, a firm grip on her injured hand whilst another pinned her other hand to the wall so that she couldn't finish the spell. Zachariah stared at the sigil with a humoured expression. "Your Dad taught you that did he?"

"Fuck you," she mumbled. The male that pinned her good hand squeezed his hand into her shoulder, making her wince.

"Now, now," Zach said, "all you have to give us is one name. Just one."

"I don't have one! I don't know it!"

"Well you must call them something." Charlotte glared at him, her mouth firmly clamped shut and that only made Zach smirk knowingly. "We've tried to be patient, now just tell us what you call them and we'll let you go."

Dean had a sinking feeling as he, Sam and Anna gathered for the morning show down with Uriel and Castiel. Ruby hadn't returned yet and he was worried that she wouldn't show up in time. He glanced at Anna who nodded her head at him with a small smile and he offered her a tight lipped grimace in return as the doors to the barn were blown open. Uriel and Castiel came a stop in front of them and Dean clenched his hand into a fist. "Time's up," Uriel said as he glared from Sam, to Dean then to Anna.

"How did you find us?" Sam asked. There was silence for a moment and Castiel's eyes on Dean gave him away. Sam turned to look at his brother with a shocked, "Dean?"

Dean went to take a step forward, his mouth open, but Anna grabbed his arm and looked up at him, "It's fine."

He stared down at her and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

She smiled up at him, "You did everything you could." Dean took a step back and watched as Anna took one forward, chin raised. "I want to trade. My life for Charlotte's."

Dean watched Cas and Uriel carefully. He noted the confusion on Cas' face whilst Uriel's was a blank expression. But there was something there, he was sure. "We've no idea what you're talking about," Uriel said.

Anna tilted her head to look at him. "The angels have Charlotte and I want to trade my life for hers."

Uriel shook his head slowly. "I can't do what I don't know about," he said and he took a step forward, "now, I promise to make this quick."

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," Alastair's voice interrupted and all attention was drawn to him and the two demons he brought with him who held a bleeding Ruby between them.

Charlotte chuckled, ignoring the way her hand throbbed as the female angel on her right squeezed her wrist and she rolled her head back against the wall as her body shook with each loud laugh. She watched Zach's face fall into confusion and laughed a little longer before she started to breathe normally, a grin on her face. "You're scared."

"Excuse me?"

"Of him. Whoever he is," she titled her head forward to grin smugly at him as she said, "you're afraid of him because he's doing whatever the hell he wants. He's not falling in line behind whatever crack you guys are smoking." The guy on her left dug his hand into her shoulder and she hissed but kept her grin in place. "He's powerful isn't he? You're nothing compared to him. None of you are, and it pisses you off that he'd rather side with me than you."

There was a dangerous silence in the air and Zach nodded. The guy punched her in the stomach and she groaned, her muscles tensing as pain flared across her stomach and she wheezed. There was another punch and she felt a rib break. Then Zach was in front of her and he bent his head forward so that he was inches away from her face as he whispered, "If he's on your side, let's see him help you out of this."

Dean pulled Sam and Anna to one side as the angels and demons started to fight. He kept his gaze flitting from Uriel to Cas, to Ruby to Alastair and back again. He leaned back as he watched Uriel place a hand on one of the demons head and light burst from its skull as it screamed out. He turned his attention to Alastair and watched Cas try to do the same thing to him, only it didn't work. Anna had already moved out of his grasp but Dean concentrated on grabbing the nearest thing he could, a crowbar and swung it at Alastair as he started to mumble something.

Alastair dropped Cas and stood up, slowly turning to Dean. He backed up with a sheepish smile as Alastair said, "Dean, Dean, Dean... I am so disappointed. You had such promise."

There was a shout of, "No," and all eyed turned in time to see Anna throw something to the ground that erupted into a bright blue cloud swirling up and around her. "Shut your eyes," she warned before blinding light enveloped the room leaving Dean, Sam, Ruby, Castiel and Uriel.

There were a few seconds before Dean stood up straight and said, "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Go get Anna. Unless, of course, you're scared."

"This isn't over," Uriel warned.

Dean managed a smirk as he said, "Oh, it looks over to me, junkless."

Charlotte let out a groan as she felt another rib break. The angels let her fall to her knees as she bent over, her arms wrapped around her stomach with a grunt. There was a chuckle above her as Zach said, "Where is he hmm? If he's on your side then where is he?"

She lifted her head with a wheeze and glared. Some of the cuts on her face had reopened and fresh blood started in slow trickles down her face. She didn't say anything but he was right. Maybe she'd been overstepping and now she was dead. She coughed with a hiss and ducked her head again. She was begging for some kind of help, anything no matter what it was.

"That's what I thought. So why make this any more painful for yourself?"

There was that familiar pull inside of her and she felt a shift inside of her. It took a lot of will power to not smirk and she kept her features schooled into a glare. She tilted her head to one side and spotted one of those blades in the guys hand on her left and dropped her gaze again. She had to be careful about this. One shot.

"Help her up," Zach said.

She wanted to grin but she kept frown in place as she felt one hand underneath each arm. She got her right leg underneath her first, leaned towards the angel guy, glanced down at the blade in his hand and wrenched her right hand free to push her shoulder into him. She drove him against the wall, used the shock against him as she yanked the blade from his hand and shoved it up into his chest. Bright, white light exploded into the room and she stepped back, already moving towards the woman. She had a blade ready in hand and Charlotte swayed on her feet. Blood dripped down the handle of the blade from the wound on her hand and she slowly switched hands, keeping her gaze fixed on hers.

The woman came at her, blade raised and Charlotte raised her bad arm and swung underneath her body with her good arm. It was blocked and her body was grabbed and shoved over the table. She rolled and tumbled onto it, the blade falling from her grasp, with a groan as her ribs protested. Then the woman was on her, blade at her neck and Charlotte wheezed, her hands around the woman's arm.

"Good try," Zach said and Charlotte felt the press of the blade against her skin, felt the start of blood dripping down her neck, when there was another bright light.

When she opened her eyes again she took deep breaths, her body aching and her ribs screaming at her as she noted that both the woman and Zach were gone. She couldn't see anybody in front of her and she groaned loudly, one arm around her ribs as she tried to push herself up. She rolled to the edge of the table and tried to get her feet underneath her first but she misjudged it and fell straight to the floor on her stomach with a painful crack from somewhere in her chest.

"Charlotte?"

She froze at the voice and snapped her eyes open. She spotted a pair of feet and stared at them for a moment before she put her hands underneath her and winced as she started to push herself up. Charlotte grabbed onto the table edge with one arm, glared over it at Anna and put her other arm onto it to help her to her feet.

"Hi," Anna said with a tight smile.

Charlotte swayed on her feet as she slowly walked around the table. Anna didn't move and Charlotte rushed the last few steps to ball her hands in her jacket and shove her against the wall with a groan. "You," she whispered.

"You remember."

"Hard to forget the voice and face of the person who delivered me to hell."

Anna tilted her head back and nodded. "I'm sorry."

Charlotte shook her head with a shaky breath. "No you're not," she whispered and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. When she'd gotten her memories back one thing that stuck was Anna's face and voice, the woman who dragged her away from her home. She pressed Anna harder against the wall with a glare and felt herself shake from anger, adrenaline and pain, "I should kill you," she whispered.

"You should," Anna said and she grabbed Charlotte's arms and pushed her back slightly. "But not today." Charlotte tried to pull away from her but Anna held on. "Don't struggle or I'll get this wrong."

"I don't need your help."

Anna just fixed Charlotte with a look and said, "And I don't care. Hold on." She closed her eyes and Charlotte frowned. A moment later she was pushed back and Anna took a step back.

"Charlotte?"

She turned her head to see Dean, Sam Pamela, Matt and Ruby in the kitchen of Bobby's house. She turned her attention back to Anna and said lowly, "Get out." Anna disappeared and Charlotte blinked, took a step back and fell onto the couch in Bobby's living room, one arm around her stomach as everything just left her. There were faces around her but she couldn't focus. There was a hand on her face, her arm, her knees and she was vaguely aware of somebody sitting next to her, dabbing her face with a towel.

Then somebody grabbed her face roughly and jerked her head so that she was focused on Dean. "Charlotte?" he whispered, and she blinked, her brows creasing. There was a numbness setting into her body as her mind started to empty itself of everything but a desire to do nothing. His eyes were fixed on hers as he said, "You good? You okay?"

She looked down and noted his other hand was nestled on her knee with a soft squeeze and she nodded her head. "I'm fine," she whispered.

She couldn't focus on anything else except his hand as it slipped from her face and to her arm and to her hand. Then there was a towel wrapped around her hand and he gently tugged her up and she let him pull her up. She couldn't explain the strangeness that settled in around her like a comforter but she couldn't stop herself from soaking it in. It muffled all of the voices around except for Dean's as he whispered, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She winced as she took the stairs, but listened to Dean as he said, "I know, I know, come on, just a few more steps."

Then there was a bed beneath her and she sat down, her arm back around her stomach. Dean was knelt down in front of her again and she watched his face with a blank expression. Green eyes studied each of her wounds carefully before he went back to her hand still wrapped in a towel. "Fuck," he whispered as he pulled the towel away and he looked up at her with worry in his eyes. He wrapped the towel back around her and grabbed her face with both hands, "Charlotte, talk to me, I need to hear you talk." She nodded her head, still weighed down by that strange numbness and Dean shook his head. "Come on princess."

She blinked and her voice was hoarse and dry as she said, "Don't call me princess."

"Bitch?" he whispered carefully.

Her mouth twitched as she whispered, "Dick."

Dean smiled, "Slut."

"Whore."

He grinned and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "That's my girl. I'll be right back."

She lost track of time as Dean grabbed a first aid kit and worked through all of it's items to wipe at her wounds, stitch her hand up and wrap anything that he could. He helped her change into clean clothes, helped her to lie down with her broken ribs and she turned to face him as he laid down next her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around his waist as he wrapped his around her shoulders and he pressed another kiss to her head. "Sleep," he whispered.

She nodded, darkness creeping in on her fast and clung that little bit harder to Dean as she whispered, "I love you."

It was a small moment, where she felt him smile, before she heard him whisper, "Love you too."


	17. 2008 November part 8

**A/N:** I promise next chapter we'll move onto a different month. But enjoy some paternal Bobby going all protective/angry dad on everyone's ass.

2008 – November

Part 8

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Bobby glared. He slowly flitted his gaze from one person to the next until he'd given all four of the people stood in front of him a healthy dose of his glare. "I leave you guys alone for _one_ day," he started and he shook his head as he left it at that, his meaning clear.

There was a moment of silence before Dean shifted his weight from one foot to the other and opened his mouth, "Well, technically-"

"Don't you even think about sassing me boy."

Dean clamped his mouth shut and did his best to avoid Bobby's gaze with a small nod. "Sorry."

Sam, Dean, Charlotte and Matthew stood in a line in front of Bobby. Sam was looking anywhere but at Bobby whilst Dean's gaze wavered between Bobby and anything else. Charlotte had one arm pulled across her chest, her lips pursed whilst Matthew was focused intently on the oldest hunter. Nobody wanted to speak first and break the silence.

"Somehow, you two," Bobby turned to look at Sam and Dean as he spoke, sarcasm encasing each word, "decided a great idea would be to summon demons to the same room as a bunch of angels. Tell me, whose bright idea was that?"

Dean glanced at Sam who raised a hesitant hand and cleared his throat. "It was mine."

"Well congratulations Sam, you came up with a stupid plan that should've gotten you both killed."

Dean shrugged, a small smirk on his face, and said, "It worked."

Bobby turned his glare on him and Dean visibly shrank underneath it, his smile gone. "You got lucky boy. Next time you might just end up dead." He took a moment to let out a deep breath along with a shake of his head before he carried on. "And picking a fight with the angels? Really? The same people who dragged your ass outta hell and could toss it back in a heartbeat?" There was another brief pause before Bobby turned his attention away from the Winchesters to look over Charlotte. "And who decided I shouldn't know that you went five rounds with demons, alone and unarmed."

"And angels," Charlotte added with a shrug.

Bobby shook his head, "That ain't the point. One of you wisecracks almost dies _I_ _deserve_ to know. Hell I should whup all your asses if they hadn't already been whupped for you."

A series of, "Sorry," "We should've," and "Yeah," answered him followed by avoided gazes.

"Now that we've _that_ cleared up, does somebody wanna tell me why I have a wanted ex-angel in my house?"

All eyes turned to Matthew who looked round at them before he looked up at Bobby. "I can leave. It'll save you all the hassle of worrying and I can defend myse-"

"You ain't going nowhere," Bobby said. "Besides, you don't know what it's like to fight as a human. You'd be dead in ten minutes."

"Somebody's chipper," Charlotte mumbled.

"I heard that!" She rolled her eyes and Bobby glared a little harder at her before he waved his hands. "Just get out of my sight, all of you." Dean and Sam wasted no time in hauling ass to the salvage yard whilst Charlotte hung around, her eyes drifting between Matthew, whose gaze was fixed on Bobby, and Bobby who was fixing himself a beer.

"You okay?" she asked him.

Matthew looked over to her and nodded. "I should be asking you that."

"What this?" she pointed vaguely at her face and waved a hand at him, "This is everyday." Matthew gave her a frown and she rolled her eyes, "It's fine, better to see you alive and my ass beat then you dead."

He nodded, his frown stuck in place and his eyes studied her carefully. She raised one eyebrow at him and he opened his mouth. "Who told you where I was?"

She raised both brows at that and shrugged her shoulder. "No idea. He didn't give me his name."

"Right," he said, but his frown didn't disappear. His gaze flicked to Bobby and he took a step towards Charlotte before he dropped his voice to a whisper and focused back on her, "and this demon you're working with."

She held her hands up with a small shake of her head and said lowly, "Not important. Don't," she closed her eyes for a moment before she sighed, "just don't."

"You know demons are bad."

The corner of her mouth tugged up into a smile and she settled a hand on his shoulder, "Only the ones you don't know. Better the devil you know right?" He opened his mouth but she shook her head and squeezed his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry by the way, for you know, the stuff I said to you. It was stupid and I-" she fumbled for words for a few minutes before she shrugged and sighed.

He smiled up at her and nodded. "I know." She grinned at him and released his shoulder, turning away towards the back door. "Hey Charlotte?" She turned to look at him and he smiled, "Thank you."

She shrugged, "Anytime," and gave Bobby a smile before she stepped out of the back door, leaving Matthew and Bobby alone.

Matthew caught the other man staring at him and he squared his shoulders before he walked up to him. "Bobby Singer."

"Yeah?"

Matthew couldn't help the slight curve to his lips, "I just want to say thank you, for being there for her, for being the father I couldn't."

"Well somebody had to." Bobby grabbed a second beer and held it out to him.

He winced at that and nodded. "I deserved that," he said and he hesitated before he took the beer.

Bobby wasn't fazed as he kept his gaze level with his and said, "Well you were too busy being all high and might with the rest of them."

He snapped his eyes up then and shook his head. "It wasn't like that."

"No? The way I see it is this, you have a kid, you try your damdest to take care of it, be there for it, angel mojo or not."

Matthew held his hands up. "You're right. You are. But you have to understand something, there is no other person like her, no other nephilim. I broke the rules and created something new. The angels were curious, to a," he closed his eyes and grimaced before he sighed and opened them again, "to a sick degree, they were curious, believed that God wanted them to find out what she was capable of." Bobby tilted his head back, eyes furrowed in concentration and Matthew took that as a cue to carry on. "You have to understand they were dissecting her in their own way, making sure she felt every inch of that pain. I begged, I fought, I killed my own brothers to try to prevent that, but when that failed, they mocked me and gave me a choice."

"What choice was that?"

"Either she dies or I lock away her angelic side and have nothing to do with her. Either let her die or save her and never see her again."

Bobby frowned at that and pointed his bottle at him. "But you've been around, that demon that had possessed Sam, the Djinn?"

Matthew smiled with a small chuckle and ducked his gaze. "It took time to learn a technique where I could watch her, and the rest of you, without the angels knowing. But she was already a hunter and when things became too much, when I feared too much for your safety I- I just, I couldn't stand by and do nothing."

"So you broke your little pact and let me guess, they weren't too happy with that."

He raised his brows with a tight smile before he settled his gaze. "Yeah. They took notice but when they realised I wasn't saying anything about what she was I think they kind of let it slide." There were a few moments of silence as both men drank their beers and Matthew sighed.

"So what changed their mind?"

Matthew raised his head to look at Bobby, his lips pursed and he swallowed before he spoke. "Dean." Bobby frowned and Matthew went on. "She tried to sell her soul to save him, I know that, the angels know that and stopped her. But when he did die she became relentless in finding a way to summon Zachariah."

"Who's that?"

"The angel that's taken a personal disliking to her. No doubt he's responsible for some of her current wounds." Bobby nodded and Matthew went on. "It was clear that she had a witch hunt going on and when they found out that I was making sure she stayed alive, she was reckless-"

Bobby chuckled, "Sounds about right."

"-I guess that was too far for them. So they stole my grace and my memories and put me down in Nevada."

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes as the information sunk in and eventually Matthew felt happy to disturb. "I mean it when I say you've done a good job, and thank you for taking care of her. I know that you didn't have to and that it is more than you ever asked for."

Bobby took another sip of beer and pushed away from the counter he'd been leaning on. He nodded his head and stopped at the back door. Matthew stopped next to him and Bobby nodded with a smile to the salvage yard. Matthew turned in time to see Sam double over in laughter as Charlotte, from against the wind shield, pushed Dean off the hood of the Impala with her foot. "You deserved that," Sam said.

"Oh I see, you're ganging up on me? Is that it?"

"You betcha _Princess_," Charlotte teased.

Bobby nodded his head to the trio as Dean shook his head and shoved Sam's shoulder a little harder than necessary. "Bitch."

"Jerk," Sam said in response, pushing him back harder.

Dean pushed back against Sam's side, who responded by shoving Dean and as they carried on Charlotte started up a small chant of, "I'm betting on Sam to come out on top."

"It was worth it," Bobby said with a smile and he patted his hand on Matthew's shoulder. "I meant it when I said I wasn't kicking out. Welcome to the family."


	18. 2008 December

**A/N:** As promised a new month (finally) and have some Natalie (who needs to make more appearances) and Charlotte bonding. There'll be talks of the Winchesters don't worry. Reviews appreciated. (sorry it's a little late)

2008 – December

_Missouri – Maryville_

Natalie shook her head with a laugh. "No, that is not normal."

"Come on," Charlotte said from her position at the pool table, cue in hand. She flicked her eyes up to meet Natalie's as she said, "Don't tell me you've never even thought about it."

Natalie scoffed with a grin. "No, I haven't."

Charlotte took the shot and stood back up. She pointed a finger over at Natalie and said, "You're missing out. Trust me."

"Oh and you and Dean _have_?"

"Oh yeah. As soon as Sam left."

Natalie screwed her face up and Charlotte chuckled as she took another shot. "You're disgusting. Both of you."

"Yeah," she answered back, "we know." She sighed as she stood and grabbed her beer from the edge of the pool table. "Your turn." Natalie put her wine glass down on a nearby table and Charlotte stood by that as Natalie walked around the pool table once. "So, when are you next going to call Sammy?"

Natalie flicked her eyes up with an amused smile. "When I decide to call Sam, I'll call him. Right now, I'm busy," she set up a shot for herself, "hanging out with my friend."

Charlotte shrugged, "He's a friend too."

Natalie gave her a look before she shook her head and took the shot. She stood back and leaned against the table with a thoughtful look on her face, "No, you're right. I should stop meeting up with you and schedule booty calls with Sam."

"Now that is more like it."

"I was kidding!"

Charlotte shrugged as she took another sip of beer and put the bottle down. "I'm not."

Natalie chuckled and grabbed her glass again. Her phone buzzed and she quickly dug it out of her jacket to read the message before she looked up again. Her eyes travelled over Charlotte's bent frame to the bar behind her and she raised one brow before she cleared her throat and focused back on Charlotte. "You have an audience."

Charlotte frowned at her, "What?" and took the shot before she slowly stood back up. Natalie nodded over her shoulder and Charlotte turned to see two guys in their late twenties wave over at them both. She admitted, they were handsome... "Whatever." She shrugged a shoulder and moved to grab her beer again.

Natalie stared at her for a moment before she grabbed her cue and lined up a shot. "Since when did you pass up even _flirting_ with another guy?"

"Since when was it any of your business?"

Natalie looked up to see a frown on Charlotte's face as she threw back a couple more gulps of beer. "I was kidding. Jeez," she took a shot with a smirk and stood up, "just, you usually give them a nod at least."

Charlotte shrugged and pointed to the table, "Just take your second shot." Her eyes glanced up briefly to the two guys and when Natalie stepped around the table she caught them still looking. "They look shifty."

Natalie chuckled and took her second shot. "Dean's made you soft."

Charlotte snorted and her phone buzzed this time. She pulled it out of her jeans pocket with a quick, "I can show you how not soft I am." She frowned at the screen after a moment and quickly stuffed her phone away.

"Great comeback Dixon."

"It's Winchester," Charlotte muttered as she quickly lined up a shot of her own. Natalie stared, and stared, and stared. Charlotte took three more shots with her frown stuck on her face before she glanced up at Natalie. "What?"

"Since when?"

Charlotte shrugged and took another shot. "About two months now." She came to grab her beer from next to Natalie who backhanded her arm. "What?"

"Where was my invite? And don't you dare say it got lost in the post."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and finished her drink. "Oh it was beautiful, middle of the night marriage with a drunk called Alfred or Alec or something as our witness. You should've been there, we were shaking and nervous, scared."

Natalie stared at Charlotte again and folded her arms. "Okay, I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

Charlotte grinned and grabbed her empty bottle. "Refill?"

Natalie narrowed her eyes and quickly finished the rest of her drink. "Not the cheap stuff," she said as she passed her her now empty glass.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Natalie waited until Charlotte was at the bar before she grabbed her phone again and fired off a quick text to Sam: _Hope you two are alive and safe._

It was a few moments before she felt her phone buzz with a message from Sam: _We are. Hunting a Siren. You good?_

She raised her brows at that with a smile. _I'm good. With Charlotte in a bar. _Natalie lifted her head then to find the other woman talking to a shorter guy with dark hair at the bar... she stared curiously at the guy who wore a dark suit, which put him out of place to the rest of the bar. When she focused back on Charlotte there was a look of irritation on her face. Then the guy placed his hand on her arm and Natalie internally winced at the glare she saw her friend give him. He smiled and now Natalie was even more curious.

_Don't do anything I wouldn't do._

Natalie had to blink a couple of times at her phone before she registered that Sam was texting her back and she grinned as she sent a quick:_ And what would you draw the line at?_

She looked back up to see that Charlotte and the mysterious guy were close to one another, a few inches between them, and there was a smirk to Charlotte's face. The guy narrowed his eyes at her and it was a few moments before he released her. Charlotte grinned and grabbed two drinks and Natalie focused back on her phone as Sam sent back: _Depends on how far you'd want to go?_

_Sam Winchester, are you flirting with me?_

Charlotte set her drink down and Natalie thanked her with a smile. She nodded to the bar and said, "Friend?"

Charlotte shook her head and grabbed the cue again, "Annoyance. My turn?"

Natalie waved a hand to read Sam's message: _Depends, is it working?_

She bit her lip with a smile and quickly typed out: _It would be better if I heard it directly from your mouth, but yes, it's working._

"Is that Sam? That better be Sam."

Natalie snapped her eyes up and glared at Charlotte and her smirk. "Shut up and worry about your own boyfriend."

Charlotte pointed a finger at her, "It's your turn, and that's husband, who by the way, is a big boy and can take care of himself."

Natalie jumped from her seat with a shrug. "Did you know that he and Sam are hunting a Siren right now?"

Charlotte stared at her with raised brows. "You serious?" Natalie smirked as she lined up her shot and Charlotte sighed, "How come they get all the fun cases? You know what my last case was? A poltergeist in an old house back in Kentucky. A poltergeist. And they get a Siren. About two weeks ago they dealt with an angel having her grace stolen while I was having my ass kicked by demons."

Natalie looked surprised this time and shrugged shoulders as she stood up. "Making you're just not looking in the right kind of places."

"Or maybe the world hates me."

"There is that."

Charlotte chuckled and took a step next to the pool table. "You weren't supposed to agree." As she drew back the cue to take her shot Natalie's eyes travelled to behind her, to the two guys from before who made their presence known by stopping on one side of the table. "Hi," Charlotte said as she stood, moving to the other side.

"Hey ladies," the taller one with dark brown hair said, his eyes fixed on Natalie. The shorter one was busy letting his eyes drag over Charlotte with chocolate brown eyes. "A couple of beautiful ladies like you deserve to be given the attention you deserve."

Natalie placed a hand over her chest with a tight smile as she came to stand next to Charlotte. "Oh, aren't you guys just sweet."

Charlotte wrapped an arm around Natalie's waist and pulled her close against her, falling into the routine. "But she has all the attention she will ever deserve," Charlotte said and she grinned as she pecked Natalie on the cheek.

Natalie made a show of sighing into the small touch and leaning on Charlotte, her head tilted back on her shoulder. "Don't," she chided, "you'll make me blush."

"Babe, you know I love it when you blush."

"Sweetie please," Natalie said, ducking her eyes.

Charlotte chuckled and placed another kiss to her cheek before she placed her lips next to Natalie's ear and whispered, "How over the top are we going?" Natalie giggled as a response and bit down on her bottom lip. "Full on giggling messes?"

"I'd like that," Natalie whispered and Charlotte pecked her cheek again before she drew away to grab her beer. Natalie cleared her throat and looked over to the two men, "You're welcome to join us. We can start a new game."

"Su-sure," the shorter guy said and Natalie smirked at the change in demeanour.

An hour of playing pool and 'touching' later, the women decided to call it a night and said goodbye to the two men: Jake and Daniel, as they left the bar, arm in arm, Natalie's head on Charlotte's shoulder. Once outside they let go and Charlotte stretched with a laugh. "That was fun. I miss doing that."

"You know we could just tell them we're taken."

"Yeah but," Charlotte said as she opened the driver's side door of her car, "where's the fun in that?" Her phone rang and she frowned at Dean's name. "Motel?" she asked Natalie, who climbed into the passenger side with a nod before Charlotte answered, "Hey, what's up?"

"Maybe I'm just calling to say hi. Why does something have to be up?"

Charlotte chuckled and pulled out of the parking lot. "Because you and Sam are hunting a Siren."

"Oh yeah, he told me you were with Natalie. You girlies have fun?"

"Oh yeah, made out and everything. Dean what's wrong?"

There was a pause before he sighed and in a quieter voice said, "I think Sam's under the Siren's spell." Charlotte raised her brows at that and waited as he carried on, "I just, I think it's this doctor chick, she fits the bill and he's just, he's not listening to reason."

Charlotte sighed and shifted her phone to her other ear as she switched hands on the steering wheel. "Want me to come down there?"

She could feel Dean shrug as he said, "No. I got this I just," he sighed, "how am I supposed to kill the bitch if Sam's under her spell?"

"Where are you guys?"

"Bedford, Iowa. Why? You're not-"

"You're worried about Sam and now I'm worried about both of you screwing something up. I'll be a few hours. Don't kill anybody yet." She hung up and turned to Natalie with a small smile, "Tag team hunt? Us and the Winchesters?"

Natalie opened her mouth and after a moment nodded. "Sure, it'd be nice to see them in action." Charlotte snorted and turned into the parking lot for their motel. Natalie smacked her arm, "Not that kind."

"Whatever, five minutes?"

"Five minutes."


	19. 2008 December part 2

**A/N: **Part 2 of the siren episode! I may end up changing the day I update (will let you know next week). And I'm sorry for how late in the day this is. Remember, reviews are welcome. Enjoy.

2008 – December

Part 2

_Iowa – Bedford_

Charlotte had kept her eyes flicking between the road, the rear view mirror and her phone that was clutched between her hand and the steering wheel. She'd called Sam the first moment she'd gotten but all she'd received was an answering machine. She hated to think that a Siren really had gotten to Sam. If there was one thing she'd learnt that could become the brothers it was each other tanked up on whatever creature was working their mojo on them. The constant sight of headlights in the mirror let her relax a little. Natalie was right behind her and she just hoped that nothing had gone wrong.

Her phone rang and she pressed it to her ear when Natalie's name blazed across the screen. "Yeah?"

"Still not getting anything on Sam?"

She shook her head. "You neither?"

"You don't think they've gotten to each other already do you?"

Charlotte took a few slow breaths, afraid to answer her. She didn't know. She didn't want to think about it and she sighed. "I don't know. I hope not."

"So this great plan of ours?"

Charlotte chuckled and nodded. Bobby had called to let them know that he was on his way with a bronze dagger that he was certain would kill the siren. The problem was that they were going to get there before him, so they needed to make sure "Those idjits don't kill each other beforehand." The plan was simple: locate the two boys and the siren and seperate all three of them. As for details they'd agreed on a couple of simple facts, find their motel room, hope both boys were there _and _still alive, and try to keep them away from one another. "We've got this," Charlotte said, her eyes narrowing in on black Impala parked in a nearby parking lot. "Just in case we'll take shotguns filled with rock salt."

There was another incoming call and Charlotte glanced at the name before she sighed. She turned into the lot and cut the engine as she hung up on Natalie and answered, "What?"

"Iowa is the opposite way to Florida."

Charlotte frowned and quickly rummaged through the glove box. She climbed out of her car and started to check the wheel wells of her car. "Again, stop tracking me Crowley."

"The more you prance around with your hands in your pants, the more our deal is off."

She snorted and found a small hex bag hidden in the back well. She dropped it to the floor and rummaged in her pocket for a lighter. Natalie closed the door to her car with a raised brow as Charlotte said, "It's barely that. I'll get to it, next town."

She found a lighter and quickly flicked it on before she dropped it onto the hex bag, watching it light with a blue flame. "I still have my ways of finding."

"Awww," she said with a mocking tone as she opened the trunk of her car. "I'd almost think you missed me. Are you lonely? Is that what this is?" She could feel Natalie's deep frown staring at her and shrugged it off as she grabbed a shotgun and checked the rounds before she closed the trunk again. "Look, you'll know when it's done."

"The longer we wait the more trouble I'll have keeping this secret and the more chance I'll have of dragging you down with me."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. You die, I die. Whatever. Bye." She turned to look at Natalie who stood with a deep set frown. "Let's go."

"What was that about?"

She shrugged and started towards the motel's door. "I owe somebody some money and beers."

Her arm was yanked back and she was forced to turn to face a glare from Natalie. "Charlotte, what have you gotten yourself into? People don't just put hex bags in other people's cars."

"He's a paranoid bastard alright?"

"No! Not alright, that doesn't make me feel any better. Especially when you talk about dying. Please don't tell me you made some sort of stupid pact."

She rolled her eyes and tried to turn back to the motel, "I'm not an idiot. Can we talk about this later? Or maybe not at all? It really isn't that important."

"Like you being half-angel and your angel father being a human now? Like you getting beaten the hell out of by demons _then_ angels? Like none of that?"

Charlotte pursed her lips with a frown as she focused her attention on Natalie. After a moment she gave her a tight smile. "You and Sam talk a lot."

"I worry about you and if you won't tell me yourself what's going on then I have no choice _but_ to ask Sam."

She ducked her head with a small shake before she looked back up at her with a deep breath. "After this. I'll buy the wine, you and me, we'll talk."

"Good," Natalie said brushing past her and Charlotte slowly turned to look after her, "let's go save the Winchesters."

"Lead the way," Charlotte said. They managed to avoid the front desk and quickly walked through the corridors until the Winchesters room came into view. Charlotte stood on one side of the door whilst Natalie stood on the other and they both craned their neck to listen.

There was a quiet murmur for a few seconds before Dean's voice was clear, "Well, I don't know when it happened. Maybe when I was in hell. Maybe when I was staring right at you. But the Sam I knew, he's gone."

She closed her eyes and grabbed the handle, "Ready?" Natalie nodded with a quick cock of her own shotgun and Charlotte nodded. She really wished and prayed that on the other side of the door was a typical Winchester argument and nothing more. She hoped that the shotguns weren't necessary, just in case, for their own safety. She hoped.

But when she threw the door open and trained her gun on Dean's chest, his face a mixture of shock and anger, his brows wavering between confusion and rage, she glanced over his shoulder to Sam's neck, to the line of blood there. "One of you I assume," a third voice said and Charlotte twisted her body to face a third guy, "is Charlotte. Dean's lying wife?"

She felt Natalie flick her eyes towards her but she tightened her hold on her gun and slowly turned her eyes to look at Dean. "That what you think?"

He tilted his chin up with a small scoff. "If the shoe fits."

"I really," Munroe started slowly, "hate interruptions. Sam, Dean," Charlotte blinked as both turned to Munroe with wide eyes as he nodded to her and Natalie. "Take care-"

Munroe stumbled back from the shotgun round as Dean and Sam shouted, "Nick!" The next few seconds were a quick blur as Charlotte flicked her eyes to Natalie, her shotgun still smoking, as she glared at Nick's bent frame. His shirt was torn and ripped in several spots, but Charlotte didn't get to see more as Sam and Dean moved. She stepped forward, grabbed her shot gun in both hands and pushed against Dean's chest. He raised his hands up to grab the shotgun himself, a glare on his face, and he pushed back. "Dean," she ground out, feeling herself slowly lose her footing. "Snap out of it."

He pushed against her and she stumbled back. Then Dean had her pinned against the wall, shotgun pressed against her throat and he leaned in to whisper, "I have snapped out of it. I've snapped out of taking all the lies you and Sammy like to spin. Tell me, has one thing you said since I got back from hell been true?"

She stared at Dean for a moment before she slowly said, "I don't regret marrying you."

The shotgun was pressed a little harder against her throat and she could hear the faint sound of Natalie mumbling to Sam. "Even that feels like a lie."

"Like you _forgetting_ about hell?"

There was a shadow over Dean's shoulder and Charlotte flicked her eyes up to see Munroe standing there. She watched him place a gentle hand on Dean's shoulder and lean down to whisper in Dean's ear, loud enough for her to hear, "You two have got some stuff to get off your chests right?" Dean growled in response and she watched Munroe's hand squeeze Dean's shoulder lightly. "Grab her, and I'll give you two the chance the talk." The shotgun was shoved against her throat and for a moment she saw black before she was manhandled, Dean's arms around her waist as he pinned her against his chest. She barely had time to register Nick's hand on her face and she tried to pull away as he opened his mouth and sprayed her mouth with toxin. After a few moments of wriggling she felt a kind of peace wash over her and she blinked her eyes open to stare at Munroe. He grinned and tapped Dean's wrists. He let her go and she took a step away from him as Munroe took one back. "Now, wouldn't you feel better letting Dean know just what you've been keeping from him? Then, once you're finished with him, you can be with me. And you wouldn't have to hide a thing. I won't judge you."

Charlotte blinked and nodded. She turned to face Dean and took a deep breath. "Where do I start?"

"How about your acquaintance?" Dean snapped with a wave of his hand. "The one who keeps calling you, who gave you that spell for the Witnesses?"

"A demon. King of the Crossroads."

Dean stared, open mouthed, his brows raised. "You sleep with him too?"

Charlotte scoffed and nodded her head once. "Yeah. Couple of times."

Dean shook his head with a glare and Charlotte stared him down as he said, "That it? I go to hell and you jump into bed with a _demon_?"

"Funny thing Dean, the world doesn't work in black and white. There are those little grey areas and Crowley happens to fall into that grey area, you see, he's the only guy that's been willing to help me with _anything_ since the angel crap started. He was the one who I was going to sell my soul to for you so don't you dare start with your holier than thou crap because you couldn't wait to sell yours and take a trip downstairs. You've got anger issues, we all know that," she shrugged, "and I just bet you couldn't wait to take that anger out on other people downstai-"

He'd punched her before she could finish and her head snapped to one side. She quickly turned back to see Dean coming at her and she quickly lifted a foot to kick at the inside of one of his thighs. He grunted as he fell to one knee and she grabbed a handful of his hair to jerk his head back. She raised a fist and quickly punched him across his cheek twice before he threw a punch to her stomach, making her double over. She let go of his hair as he lifted an elbow into her nose, sending her stumbling back and she lifted her head just in time to see him grab the back of her shirt in both of his hands, pull her towards him. He lifted his knee into her ribs three painful times before she got her feet underneath, grabbed his waist and pushed with all of her weight into him and against the door.

They went flying through it and she landed sprawled on top of him. They both grunted and she slowly staggered to her feet, one arm wrapped around her ribs as she glared at Dean. He stumbled to his feet, body hunched in a fighting stance and she snarled her teeth at him. "I never figured you'd slut yourself out for a demon," he growled.

She lunged, grabbed the front of his shirt and her eyes flashed grey as she dragged him back and threw him into the opposite wall. He groaned as his head banged painfully against it before she wrapped one hand around his throat and started to push him up, and up, and up until his feet barely brushed the floor. "I never figured that you were such a whiny baby. Boo hoo you went to hell. Boo fucking hoo things happened to you."

Dean glared down at her and she tightened her fingers a little more before there was a set of arms wrapping around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides, and lifting her up and away from Dean. She turned her head to see Natalie, with a bloodied lip and a small bruise on her jaw, aim a gun at Dean's chest with a quick wave to the motel room they'd burst from, "Move it. And if you even think about it I'll shoot you."

Inside the motel room Munroe was gagged and tied to chair and Charlotte felt her feet touch the floor again. She finally figured out it was Sam that had her and she wriggled against him. "Stop it," he warned. Within the next few seconds she felt him snap a pair of handcuffs onto her wrist and she was pressed against another wall before Sam snapped the other cuff to the radiator. She glared daggers at him and watched Natalie march Dean to another radiator before Sam handcuffed him to it.

They were left to glare at one another across the room as Munroe's eyes flickered between them and Natalie and Sam. Bobby appeared in the doorway, his eyes taking in the sight and Charlotte let her glare linger on him too as she pulled against the handcuff. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Dean straightened up, his eyes focused on her and she stared at him.

"I was worried about you and Dean murdering each other, not them two," Bobby said.

Charlotte stared, the feeling of peacefulness inside of her slowly fading away. Natalie shrugged as she gestured a thumb to Sam, "I managed to snap him out of it. My guess is that we don't know each other enough to hold anything against each other."

Sam chuckled with a nod. "We managed to get the jump on Munroe and," he gestured to the chair the Siren was currently tied to.

Bobby shrugged a shoulder and held up the bronze dagger, his eyes moving between Dean, Munroe and Charlotte, "Let's get this over with then."


	20. 2008 December part 3

**A/N:** Well, here's part three. Enjoy.

2008 – December

Part 3

_Iowa – Bedford_

Dean tapped his finger against the beer bottle. His gaze was focused on the stained bar top, his thoughts a muddle of emotions and information. Charlotte was in the seat next to him, her hand curled protectively around her own bottle. Neither of them had really said a word since they'd taken a seat at the bar except to order their own drinks.

He didn't know where to begin, how to begin.

Bobby had quickly stabbed the blade into Charlotte's shoulder before he stabbed it into the heart of the Siren and something clicked in Dean's head, lifting a fog that had covered his mind. He felt stupid, but he'd remembered what Charlotte had said clearly. Natalie and Sam agreed that they needed to talk and Bobby told them that the three of them could clean up whilst they talked.

He tapped his finger rhythmically, his eyes moving to focus on the simple movement. He opened his mouth, felt Charlotte turn her head, and closed his mouth again with a sigh.

"Just say it," Charlotte muttered and Dean turned his head to see her staring at the bar top intently, her shoulders hunched up. There was a deep scowl on her face and he gave her tense body a once over with his eyes.

"Alright," he started with a deep breath and he looked back to his own beer. He licked his lips and laid his other hand flat on top of the bar top as he sat up a little straighter in his seat. "Crowley, the err, the guy in the "grey areas"."

Charlotte ducked her head with a slight smirk and a small scoff. She shook her head a couple times before she nodded once and lifted her head to take a sip of beer. Dean stared at her as he waited for his answer. She set the bottle back down and nodded her head again with a deep sigh. "I first met him when I tried to trade my soul for yours. He erm," she pointed a finger vaguely in Dean's direction, "he was the one who told me I wasn't quite human."

"And just like that you believed him?"

She met his gaze then and nodded once. "Crossroads demons tend to tell the truth. It's how they make their business."

"Okay," Dean nodded once, "get to the part where you sleep with him."

Charlotte jabbed a finger in his direction, "I want to state for the record I was blackout drunk for several of those times."

Dean raised his eyebrows and tilted his head back slightly. "Just how many times did you sleep with him?"

She opened her mouth, stared at him and closed her mouth again. After a few moments she let out a breath and turned away from him with a small shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know," she mumbled quietly.

"You don't know?"

She looked back up at him and gave him a look, her mouth a thin line. "I don't know." She kept his gaze for a few more moments before she sighed and let her attention linger on her bottle. She started to run a finger around the lip of the bottle as she spoke. "Those first few weeks you were gone were..." Charlotte shook her head. "It was shit alright. You were dead and nobody could help bring you back. No demon was willing to bargain, exchange or even think about it." She paused, her brows scrunching and she shook her head again as she said, _"You were dead."_ Slowly she lifted her head back up to stare at him and licked her lips before she carried on. "I watched you die, I felt myself give those orders to kill you. After seeing what Lilith had done with my hands, my body, after seeing and feeling myself kill you, after watching you get _torn apart_, I drank. I ran and I drank because I didn't know what else to do. I got black out drunk because that was better than thinking about that day, about those months." She scoffed and shook her head. "Not to mention Zach killing me, that didn't help, so yeah, I got drunk and I did things that I regret. I know it doesn't exactly excuse me for sleeping with a demon, but I've done it and I can't undo that and I'm sorry."

Dean watched her take several long gulps of her beer before she settled the bottle back down with a deep breath, her eyes closed. "Okay," Dean said and she flicked her head up to stare at him with a frown. He nodded his head once and pursed his lips. "The drinking I get, maybe sleeping with him _once_, I get, but how do you accidentally sleep with the same guy multiple times?"

"I don't know!" she snapped, eyes wide with worry and lips parted. In a quieter voice, as she shook her head, she said, "I don't know, and if I could take it back I would."

He stared at her for a moment before he bit down on his bottom lip and shook his head, his expression twisting into a frown. "Were you ever planning on telling me that?"

Charlotte's bottom lip shook for a few seconds before she slowly shook her head and managed a shaky, "No."

He scoffed and ran a hand over his face as he turned away from her and focused on the line of bottles behind the bar.

"Dean," she started quietly and he slowly lifted his head to meet her pitiful expression. She sighed and sagged in her seat. "I'm sorry, and I don't say that often. I don't expect it to smooth things over, I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'm sorry it happened and I really wish I could take it back."

He held her gaze for a few seconds, drinking in her words before he shifted slightly and said, "So why are you still talking to him? Why the hell does he have your number?"

She let out a breath that was close to a sigh and shrugged one shoulder and it was her turn to focus on the line of bottles behind the bar. "He wants Lilith dead, I want Lilith dead," she shrugged again, "better the devil you know right?"

Dean raised his brows at her, not convinced. "Did you ever ask him _why_ he wants Lilith dead?"

"Because she wants Lucifer back in earth whilst he doesn't. I figured that was a good enough cause right?"

He stared, his lips parted and brows furrowed before he said, "Need I remind you that he's a demon. Demons lie."

"Crossroads demon. They tend to tell the truth, and even the angels agree that Lilith is trying to break Lucifer free."

"Okay, then why wouldn't a _demon_ want Lucifer walking and talking huh? He tell you that?"

Now it was her turn to furrow her brows as she stared at him, her mouth open and she eventually shrugged her shoulder. "Small details," she mumbled and she took a long swig of her drink.

Dean shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Small _important_ details."

"Okay," she started, turning in her seat to face, "ask the angels why I wasn't allowed to save your ass from hell. Ask them why they had to let you die only to bring you back five months later. Ask them why they waited so fucking long and I'll ask Crowley what he's got against Lucifer."

A bitter silence filled the air round them as they both went back to their respective drinks, taking small sips. It was a short while before Dean turned to Charlotte and asked, still surprised and disbelievingly, "The _King_ of the crossroads? Really?"

Charlotte snorted, her mouth forming a thin, tight smile and she nodded, running her finger around the lip of her bottle. "Yeah, the one and only. Got him on speed dial and everything."

Dean gave her a sidelong look before he shrugged one shoulder and said, "What number?"

"Eight."

"And, just, out of curiosity, where am I?"

She turned her head to him with a smirk, "One. Sam's two and Bobby's three."

He smiled back at her, "Just making sure."

She chuckled before she took another swig of her beer and pushed the empty bottle away from her. "So where do we go from here?"

Dean's smile slipped from his face and he straightened up in his seat with a sigh. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulder, the motion becoming repetitive. "I don't know. Are you going to keep talking to him? Keep hunting Lilith with him? I mean, that's a point. How were you two planning on killing that bitch?"

Charlotte bit her lip, shook her head once and closed her eyes. "The Colt," she mumbled quietly.

"The what?"

She sighed and said louder, "The Colt."

He stared at her, and started, and stared. "The Colt as in _the _Colt?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, "Bela stole it from you two, handed it over to Crowley to try to settle her deal but Lilith changed the deal to killing you two. He gave it to me with one bullet for Lilith."

Dean raised his brows at her before he frowned. "Where is it?"

"Trunk of my car."

He nodded his head once and licked his lips. "And let me guess, you weren't planning on telling me about that either."

"Dean," she stretched quietly.

He shook his head. "What? What do you want me to say? You screwed the king of the crossroads and now you two are working together to bring down Lilith. What am I supposed to say?"

"Sam screwed Ruby and they're still buddies."

"This is different."

"Because we're married?"

"Exactly." She stared at him for a moment longer and he sighed before he turned away and closed his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted, "I don't know what to think, I don't know what to say."

Silence crept in again and they sat there, staring at the bar top and their drinks. It was Charlotte's phone that interrupted the silence and she pulled it out to see a message Jo. "_Crowley_?" Dean spat.

"Jo," she said, "was wondering if I could drop by to see her and her mom for a couple of days."

Dean glanced at her before he sighed and waved a hand, "Go, go say hi from me."

She stared at him for a few moments then said, "What about us?"

"I don't know," he admitted and he ground his teeth together. "Right now, I can't think."

She nodded and stood up from her stool. She leaned towards him, hesitated and sighed before she bent down and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you soon, maybe."

"Yeah," he whispered and he turned his head to watch her leave. When she was gone and he was alone Dean sighed and ran a hand over his face.

Matthew closed his eyes and took deep steady breaths as he cleared his mind. He was alone in Bobby's house, told to not touch anything and to not go anywhere. He felt helpless and weak without his grace and he took the moment of peace in the Singer household to pray.

"Please, somebody, anybody I am begging you to help me. Something isn't right, you must know that." He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "I am asking each and every angel to grant me forgiveness and to remember me as a brother and I am in need of your assistance. Please."

He held his breath and waited. After close to a minute of silence he looked around the empty room and sighed. He hung his head and pursed his lips. Matthew stood up and shuffled into the kitchen to grab himself a glass of water when he heard the familiar beat of angel wings.

"Remiel, they finally banished you completely from heaven."

He turned, eyes wide and fixed on the angel that had answer his prayers. She hadn't changed a bit. "Are you here to rub it in? Because that's the last thing I need."

"No. I'm here to make amends for past mistakes. I've come to realise that not everything is clear cut, that not everything is set out in stone, that things can change. I want to redeem myself for what I did to you and your... _family_."

Matthew stared at her for a moment, doubt in his features before he let out a breath and nodded. "Last I heard, you were being hunted by the angels. How can you help me?"

Her mouth curled into a smirk. "I got my grace back and I want to seek your forgiveness by helping you find yours."

"Anna," he started, "forgiveness can't be bought so easily."

"I know. But I need to start somewhere."

He eyed her a moment later before he nodded. "Okay, where do you suggest we start?"


	21. 2009 January

**A/N: **Here's chapter 21 and we're in January '09. Enjoy a less Winchester filled chapter.

2009 – January

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte glared at the tail light that she was busy replacing. Since her talk with Dean she'd barely said another word to him and him to her. She hadn't talked to Crowley and had given Jo and Ellen a quick departure before she'd hit the road with nothing but her and her thoughts. She had thought that a few hunts would help distract her, but they only served to make her more aware of the words running around inside of her head.

Crowley. He'd called and text her but she'd ignored him. Eventually he'd turned up in person and she'd given him a quick, "Fuck off," before she went back to reading the small stack books Bobby had on the myths and fables of Angels as "Passed down through the ages." He was one of the problems keeping her pissed at all times. Dean's question of what was in it for Crowley if Lilith was dead had crossed her mind plenty of times and she couldn't figure it out, wasn't sure she wanted to know. Since she'd agreed to killing Lilith for him the only logic her mind had surmised for her was that she wanted her dead and he wanted her dead. Win-win situation and she hadn't tried to look past that point too hard.

He'd been the reason she took a crowbar to the tail lights, busting them both. He'd been the reason she'd kicked the back bumper of her car and accidentally left a dent. "Stupid fucking angel DNA," she cursed as she dropped the second broken light to the floor and checked the insides for more damage.

Zachariah had been on her mind and she'd been curling her hands into fists and grounding her teeth harshly together. She wanted to murder him, simple as, only she had no way of finding him or making him stay. Not to mention the only thing she had capable of killing angels was the Colt, which she had one bullet for which was meant for Lilith. There was the blade that Matthew had held on to but once he'd gotten his memories back he'd asked to keep it, "Just in case I'm in trouble." If she used the Colt on Zach then she had nothing to kill Lilith with and that only had her mind wavering between the two people she hated most in the world right now.

She grabbed one of the fresh tail light covers and perched herself on the edge of the open trunk as she started to slide it into place.

The Trickster was another problem on her mind. Whoever the hell he was he was causing her more trouble than she needed. "I swear to God," she mumbled as she screwed the bulb back into place, "I'm punching you the next time I see you, powerful angel or not." She grabbed a screwdriver and started to tighten the screws with a small shake of her head.

She finished one light stood up and stared at the other one with a sigh. She needed to stop taking her anger out on her car. Charlotte ran a hand over her face and started to undo the other tail light, her mind wandering back to Dean and Crowley and Lilith. She scoffed. It wasn't like she was still sleeping with him. Once she'd gotten her head straightened out it was nothing but business between them. He gave her the gun and she promised to kill Lilith.

But why?

She paused, mentally cursing Dean before she dropped her screwdriver and grabbed her phone. A few rings passed before the demon in question answered the call, "This better be to tell me you're going to-"

"What do you get out of this if Lilith is dead?"

There was a noticeable pause before he said, "Excuse me?"

Slower she said, "What do you get out of Lilith being dead? What's the up side for you?"

"I get to keep my life."

She raised her brows, waited and said, "And?"

"And what?"

"And what else?"

"What else could I possibly need?"

She narrowed her eyes in thought before she hung up on him and tapped her finger against her phone, trying to put the pieces together. She needed to kill Lilith to stop Lucifer. She got that. If Lucifer rose he'd happily kill hundreds of demons with little regards to their life. She understood that. But if Lucifer stays in the pit and Lilith, the queen bee, is killed, then who tops hell? She tilted her head to one side in thought, wondering if she was reading this right. Crowley was Lilith's right hand man, her second in command. He ranked just below her which meant...

Charlotte straightened up with a small shake of her head. "No," she muttered, "no, no, no, no. No way." She frowned, still wondering if she was right, "Is that how it works? Would it work like that?" She shook her head and stood up, forgetting about the tail light. If she killed Lilith, Crowley would become top dog, unless hell worked in some other way, she was sure that that little piece of information was the piece that he was holding back from her.

"So I have to choose," she mumbled to herself, "between him and Lucifer? Crowley or the Devil?" She groaned and hit her hand on the edge of the trunk with a frustrated noise. She stared a little longer, only being pulled out of her thoughts by a bang on the open trunk of her car. She leaned forward to see Natalie step into view and she gave her a small smile, "Hey, you and Bobby done talking?"

Natalie shrugged and took a seat next to her. "Charlotte, be honest with me, what's going on with you?"

Charlotte stared at her for a moment before she sighed and bowed her head to stare at the floor. She shrugged her shoulder, took a breath and sighed before she ran a hand through her hair and started, "Dean's pissed at me because I slept with the same demon a couple of times whilst he was in hell. Said demon and I are kind of working together to kill Lilith who by the way is trying to bring on the apocalypse. Add into that my angel dad had his grace stolen by heaven, there's this other angel guy who every other angel is afraid of, helping me for some reason and I'm pretty sure the angels want the apocalypse to happen." She took a breath and glanced up at Natalie with a shrug, "Add into that a possible divorce and me wanting to kill a couple of angels in particular for screwing up my life and killing me and I'm fine."

They stared at one another for a few moments before Natalie sighed and wrapped an arm around Charlotte's shoulders. "Why did you sleep with him?"

Charlotte sighed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes before she shrugged and said, "Oh I don't know. I was black out drunk and high on loss, pain and anger from seeing Dean get ripped apart by hellhounds that my hands gave the orders to."

Natalie squeezed her shoulder gently and Charlotte admitted there was a little comfort in the small touch. "And now you two want to kill Lilith to _stop_ the apocalypse?"

"Yeah, apparently Lucifer doesn't care for demons and if they're scared of him then I'd hate to see what he has in mind for humans."

Natalie nodded and Charlotte shifted slightly closer. She hated to admit it but sharing everything was starting to help her breathe and helped her to think a little clearer. "The angels want the apocalypse too? Are you sure about that?"

Charlotte tilted her head to one side. "No but I need to have a little chat with one of them to clear that up then I'll be sure." At Natalie's frown Charlotte sighed. "The first of the sixty six seals shall break when a righteous man sheds blood in hell." Natalie stared at her some more and Charlotte shrugged. "Dean went to hell and the angels stopped me from selling my soul for him. Five months later they drag him out, please tell me that I'm not just paranoid about the timing."

"But this is _Dean Winchester_. Mr "let's just go in and hope we don't die" Winchester. He hustles money from pool and poker. He uses fake credit cards and he steals all the time from what you've told me. Righteous? Idiotic maybe, reckless."

Charlotte smiled and nodded, "Genius, selfless, caring, excellent hunter, amazing in bed."

"I didn't need to know that last bit."

"No but he is pretty fantastic. Seriously, full night's sleep every time, full body tingling, seeing stars, the whole nine yards. Every. Time."

Natalie turned her head away and dropped her arm from her shoulder. "Well good for you that I don't plan on sleeping with him any time _ever_."

Charlotte raised her brows with a smirk, "No, you just want to bang his _tall_ brother who no doubt has a huge-"

Natalie slapped the back of her head before she could finish her sentence and pointed a finger at her, "Tell me again why we're friends?"

Charlotte grinned, "Because you love me and secretly can't wait for me to get into your pants."

"You're disgusting. You and Dean are a perfect match, _if_ he wasn't pissed at you right now."

Charlotte's grin faltered and she turned away, "Thanks for killing the mood."

"Dean just needs some time and you need to make sure he knows everything," Natalie said, giving Charlotte a stern look.

"As I said, still need to work out a couple of things. Still need to hope one of the angels will talk to me."

Natalie nodded and jumped off the open trunk, "Well let's go make a call."

Charlotte raised her brows at her with a small smile, "Excuse me?"

"What? You guys get all of the angel action and I have to take a back seat? I don't think so. You and I and going to get us an angel. Together."

Charlotte couldn't help her smile and nodded, "Just as soon as I finish putting in this tail light."

"Nope," Natalie said, pulling the screwdriver from her hand, "we're taking my car and we're going now."


	22. 2009 January part 2

**A/N:** So Thursdays seem to be a day that I'm actually able to upload so that's what I'll do from now on. Sorry about the delays life is busy and I'm here and there and just, enjoy.

2009 – January

Part 2

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte watched Natalie with a curious expression. They'd been driving for ten minutes before Charlotte had asked her, "Just how are we supposed to summon an angel? You got a spell or something?"

Natalie had slowed the car down as she started to frown and Charlotte was already regretting the idea of this little road trip as they turned onto a dirt road that both women knew lead to nowhere but an empty clearing. "I was hoping you had one."

"Well the angels hate me too much to leave me a line to their phone."

Natalie stopped the car when they were hidden from the road and sat in her seat, brows creased in deep thought. "Your dad?"

"Wingless. Angel-less."

She hummed and tapped her fingers against the steering wheel before she looked over at Charlotte and said, "What about the one who brought Dean back?"

"Cas?" Charlotte snorted, "He hasn't answered me yet I doubt he'd come calling now."

Natalie rolled her eyes and shoved lightly at her shoulder, "Maybe you're just not being nice."

"Like that time I felt like I was dying? In the middle of nowhere? And I got nothing?"

Natalie smirked as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened her door, "Maybe he doesn't like you. What was his name again?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes this time and climbed out of the car as well, "Castiel. And if he answers you I'm punching the guy for being ignorant."

Natalie shrugged and stretched, "This is why you have no friends." She cleared her throat and watched Charlotte jump onto the hood of her car before she frowned again. "Castiel?" she tested uncertainly, her eyes looking towards the sky. She had to admit, she felt ridiculous doing this, but she wanted to help Charlotte out, wanted to help settle her mind. "Look," she went on, "you may be busy making sure Dean doesn't stick a fork in a toaster or something." She heard Charlotte snigger behind her and smiled at the sound. "But we could do with some answers, if, if you'll answer."

Silence followed her words.

There was no rustle of clothes or flutter of wings and Natalie stared up at the sky with a saddened expression. "Cas?" she whispered, "Come on."

Nothing.

"Told you," Charlotte muttered.

Natalie sighed and rubbed a hand over her face as she turned. "Nobody likes a smug bitch."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at her for a few seconds before she shrugged, "Meh, it's fun."

The silence started again and Natalie held her breath for twenty seconds before she hung her head and held her hands up. "Fine, who's next?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Zach hates me, probably wants me dead more than anything, erm, Anna's a bitch and _I'd _kill _her_, then there's this Trickster guy, I don't know his name but he seems kinda cool. I think."

Natalie walked over to her car to sit next to Charlotte with a frown, "What kind of a name is Trickster?"

"A dorky one?" Charlotte supplied with a smirk, "Stupid even I mean, the guy has this cute smile and yet he's got a kind of dorky face to go with."

Natalie raised an eyebrow as she listened to Charlotte talk, "You know, you're not supposed to talk about other guys like that when you're technically married."

"Technically speaking he's an angel, not a guy. And he's not my type. Too short."

"Too short?" Both women jerked their heads round to the trunk of the car where a guy with light brown hair sat, leaning back against the car. "I'll have you both know that I am of average height, if not taller and that you are very heightest."

Charlotte sniggered, "Little defensive there Tricky?"

Natalie slowly slid off the hood of her car to slowly step around to get a view of the Trickster. He was laid back, one arm behind his head and a lollipop stuck in his mouth. He turned his head to peer at her through golden brown eyes and Natalie's eyes widened. "You're- you're an angel?"

He watched her for a moment longer before he turned to look at Charlotte who was still sat on the hood of the car but with her legs on the side, "Did you tell her my secret? I thought we were friends?"

"Friends know friends' names."

"Ah," he waved a hand and went back to lying back. "Names are not important."

Natalie stared, her eyes running over Trickster's entire body from his head to his toes and back up. She started to frown and she pointed a vague finger at him, "I thought angels had wings."

"We do," he said, "but they're not really on your kind of viewing scale."

Charlotte jumped off the hood and came to stand next to the trunk. She laid her hands on the metal top and stared at him, "How much of the angel's business do you know?"

He seemed to think it over for a few seconds before he nodded his head once with a grin, "None. I stay out of it because I don't care."

"You don't care?" Natalie asked. "How can you not care when you're an angel? Aren't they you're family?"

He looked at Natalie, his expression darkening a fraction before he swung his legs over the side of the car, "Like this." He smirked, shrugged his shoulders and sat there, staring at them.

Natalie scoffed and shook her head whilst Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Okay Tricky, give me a name of somebody who will know something."

He rolled his head in her direction with a curious frown, "Why?"

"Because," she started, a smile on her lips as she leaned her head forward, her voice dipping, "I would like some nice answers."

"Last time I checked," he started in chiding tone, "you weren't a nice person," and he grinned down at her.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him and Natalie stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. She gently tugged on her shoulder, giving her the idea to move away. Charlotte took a step back, her arms folded.

Natalie put herself between Charlotte and Trickster and smiled warmly up at him. "Look, sir," she started kindly, "there are some things that don't quite make sense and we were just hoping that somebody could help clear those things up."

He studied her face for a few moments, his eyes flicking over Natalie's shoulder to stare at Charlotte before he sighed and tilted his head back. "Nope. No can do." He rolled his head forward to look at Natalie again, "There's a reason I'm no involved in their business, a reason why I stay out of it."

"Come on!" Charlotte called out.

"Hey!" he shouted, pointing a finger at her, "Can it. If you had any idea how big this world is outside of your front door, you'd realise why I'm not saying anything."

Charlotte glared at him and unfolded her arms, "Or maybe, you're not saying anything because you're scared of something. Or maybe you're pathetic. Running away and hiding from your problems, you really think that'll solve anything? You know what? The world still turns. Things still happen whether you want to hide from them or not. Just because you can't see them happening doesn't mean they're not." She took a few steps forward as she spoke, glaring at him with each word. "And didn't you tell me that you were happy that I was screwing with the angels plans? So _you_ know something. Now spill."

Silence hung dangerously in the air for several seconds. Natalie was the one to break it as she cleared her throat and looked between the two of them. "Look-"

"Or what?" he said. Natalie stared, shock and fear written across her face at the dangerous tone of his voice. "You'll kill me? Go ahead and try because let me tell you something, you are nothing but a blip in this world, an insignificant blip that means nothing to this world."

There was a rustle of fabric and feathers and he was gone. Natalie stared, wide eyed at the empty spot on her car. "Dickhead," Charlotte spat, glaring at that same spot.

"Did you really have to do that?"

"What? He's hiding something. He knows something."

"He's an angel?"

"And?" Charlotte said. "Just like everyone else he seems to be a dick. So excuse me whilst I don't care." She started to storm towards the passenger side of the car when Natalie grabbed her arm. Charlotte raised one brow and looked up at her, waiting.

Natalie sighed and let go, "He came here willingly. As you said he's been coming to you out of his own willpower. Maybe you _should _be a little nicer to him."

Charlotte frowned slightly and pulled her arm free. "Next time I'll think about it, happy?"

Natalie pursed her lips with a small shake of her head and rolled her eyes. "Is the best I'll get. So, the angels do have a plan and everybody knows it?" Charlotte shrugged, turning her head to look around the area. Natalie followed her gaze and couldn't help the sense of being watched making her shiver. "Let's get out of here, do a little research into the angels and the apocalypse, see if we can find anything."

"Doubtful," Charlotte muttered as she climbed into the passenger seat.

Natalie closed her eyes for a moment and as she rounded the car to the drivers side she flicked her gaze up to the sky and whispered to herself, "Give me strength someone."


	23. 2009 January part 3

**A/N:** Okay so, here's a new, longer than normal chapter. I think this is the start of some other A/U stuff coming into play, and enjoy a new side of Dean. Enjoy reading and let me know what you think.

2009 - January 

Part 3

Matthew watched Anna with wary eyes. If he could turn to any other angel for help he would do, but the situation was so: Anna was the only angel willing to lend Matthew a hand. No matter all the good he had done for thousands of years, how many orders he had followed and how many times he had obeyed, the other angels saw his worthiness wiped away with the accidental creation of one life. But that didn't mean he _had _trust her completely. He hadn't forgotten about her murdering Helen and kidnapping Charlotte, but he did have no other choice.

There was the other fact that Anna had told him she was against the rising of Lucifer, that she would rather the apocalypse didn't happen. "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye Remiel," she had started, "but this is one thing we can agree on, that the apocalypse and the rise of Lucifer is bad news for everyone. Demons. Angels and Humans. I know of a few Angels who would be willing to help us but I can't do it with you as a human, I need you as an Angel." Matthew saw it as a win-win situation, he got his grace back, they stopped the apocalypse so he'd agreed to whatever her plan was.

She had told him that the likely suspect to have taken his grace was Zachariah, considering his involvement so far but they had no chance of surviving summoning him and asking him straight to his face. Matthew was human and Anna was wanted by the Garrison. They'd be dead within minutes, seconds in his case and it wasn't worth the risk just in case he _didn't _have it on him like Uriel had had with Anna's grace. That was a story Matthew was still wrapping his head around.

Which had led to Anna's second idea of tracking his grace through an old Enochian spell. The idea was that each Angel's grace was unique and bound to the host they were within in some way. A spell that used his blood would give them the quickest result. They were in an old warehouse with angel warding drawn onto the walls. Matthew watched Anna finish writing the spell, a tired look in her eyes. There was only so much an Angel could stand and Anna was still new to being an Angel again. "Here," she said, handing him the paper before she took a seat on an old crate. He didn't recognise the spell but Anna had been of a much higher rank than himself.

He looked it over, the words coming back to him. They sounded right for the kind of spell they were supposed to be doing but he still wasn't entirely certain, he felt like he was cheating something. He read the lines again, tried to deconstruct their meaning before he sighed and nodded. There was no other way to find his grace. It was by luck that Anna had come across the Winchesters, by luck that they had managed to come up with a plan to surprise the Angels. Nobody was lucky enough to pull the same stunt twice and get away with it.

"What's the matter?" Anna asked, her eyes wide as she tried to keep her eyes open.

Matthew fixed his attention on her and opened his mouth. _I still don't trust you but I have nobody else to trust that can help and I would really like my grace back._ He closed his mouth again and gave her a tight smile, "Nothing." He glanced at the spell again and looked over at the ingredients they'd gathered. All he had to do was say the words, spill some of his blood into the bowl, set the bowl in the centre of a large symbol they'd already drawn in chalk, and finish the spell.

"I hate to rush you Remiel but we are running out of time, the Angels will already know that this place is warded against them. It won't be long before they figure out a way in."

He nodded his head. "I know, I know," he muttered, still eyeing the spell. His phone rang and he frowned, dropping the sheet to pull his phone out. Charlotte's name stared up at him and he closed his eyes and took a breath. "I need to take this," he told Anna before he took a few steps away to answer the call, "Charlotte, hi."

"Where the hell are you?"

He raised his brows before he nodded with a small smile. He shouldn't have expected anything less. "Finding my grace."

There was a pause before she said, "How? You're human?"

He cleared his throat and hesitated before he said, "With Anna. Apparently there's an old Enochian spell that could be used to track an angel. In theory-"

"You're working with Anna? Anna? The same red headed bitch that killed Mom? The same Anna?"

"Charlotte, listen-"

"No! Whatever it is it isn't good."

He frowned, "Anna wants to stop the apocalypse before it happens."

"Okay, then tell her to get me to Lilith."

"Didn't you threaten to kill her the next time you-"

"That isn't the point! Angels have been stopping me from killing Lilith, you know, the Demon in charge of breaking the seals. Somebody up there wants Lucy free and I can't scratch my head as to why."

Matthew frowned as he took in her words. He shook his head, disbelieving her words. "They wouldn't," he said, "Angels were ordered to watch over man. If they start the apocalypse they are breaking the very orders God himself laid down for them."

"What if they don't care?"

He shook his head. "They do, it's why I'm no longer an Angel and why I'm shunned. I broke the rules." He sighed and took a breath, "I'm trying to do exactly what you are, stop the apocalypse, just because it's a different way doesn't mean-"

"We can do it your way Matt, but not with her."

"She saved your life."

Charlotte scoffed, "After putting it in danger."

Matthew bit his tongue before he said, "That was before she discovered free will."

Charlotte groaned and he could feel her shaking her head, "Matt, just tell where you are. I'll pick you up and we'll find your grace. Together."

"Charlotte," he hesitated, knowing that the words on his tongue would give him nothing but backlash. But she couldn't understand how this worked, the risks that he and Anna would going through just to do this spell. He couldn't involve Charlotte in his business, not any more. He shook his head and said, "you're human. There's nothing you can do." _Damn anyone who said humans made you soft._

"Matthew, if you hang up on me, I swear to God-"

He closed his eyes and hung up, praying that she would forgive him.

* * *

Anna watched Matthew carefully. She had twisted the truth slightly when she had told him that there were other Angels willing to help her. Out of all of the Angels that she had commanded she knew that there were three she could count on if she needed to, but having somebody on her side in the field was important. And the way she saw it, both her and Matthew had mutual goals, stop the apocalypse. What happened afterwards, happened and the details could wait a little longer.

* * *

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte stared at her phone before she groaned and closed her fist around it. Anna. He was with Anna doing something stupid. She hoped he was being smart about this, whatever it was he was doing, but she couldn't help but to worry.

"Well?"

Charlotte lifted her head to two pairs of waiting eyes. She sighed and looked from Bobby to Natalie and back, "He's looking for his grace with Anna. Don't know where."

"Well that's great," Bobby mumbled, "just what we need right now, a runaway ex-Angel running around with a wanted Angel."

Natalie pursed her lips and studied Charlotte's face whilst Bobby turned to answer one of the phones ringing in the kitchen. "Maybe he knows what he's doing," she tried.

Charlotte shook her head. "I don't trust Anna."

"Maybe she's changed. You didn't really give her much of a chance."

Charlotte stared at Natalie and bit back a reply. Instead she shook her head and started to head out to the salvage. "I'm going to finish fixing my car."

"Charlotte," Natalie started, "maybe he's right."

She turned and faced the other woman. "He is one hundred percent human right now. He snaps like a twig and I'm worried because Anna is the Queen of snapping people."

Natalie raised one brow at her and settled one hand on her waist, "You're being judgemental."

"I'm allowed," she grumbled before she turned and stalked back out to where her car sat untouched from before. She sighed as she grabbed the screwdriver, dropped her phone into the open trunk of her car and picked up the second tail light. She pushed it into place, propped her knee against it and started to tighten the screws. Once that was done she had the bumper to sort out and after that was going to check over the engine. There was a noise that had been bugging her the last time she'd taken it out.

Her eyes drifted to her phone and she ducked her eyes with a heavy sigh. She was itching to smooth things over with Dean still and she groaned as she grabbed her phone. She found Dean's name and tapped her finger against her phone before she sighed. What could she even say that she hadn't already said? What was there to say other than "Sorry I screwed the King of the crossroads please forgive me"? "Screw it," she muttered as she stuffed her phone into her pocket and stood up. She eyed the back bumper of her car and decided that she could hit that dent out with a hammer.

An hour later and she was underneath her propped up car, thick gloves covering her hands. She held a rubber mallet in one hand and a thick block of wood in the other as she slowly tapped the wood against the bumper. Every few seconds she pulled herself out to see how it was looking before she went back under and tapped a little more.

She'd just gotten the worst of it out when there was a foot gently kicking against her leg. She frowned and pulled herself out to look up at a pair of thoughtful green eyes. "Dean," she said slowly.

The corner of his mouth tugged up into a tiny flicker of a smile as he leaned against the hood of her car, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Hey," he said and he held a hand out to help her up. She took it and his eyes drifted to the dent that was slightly visible now. "You tail end someone?"

"Kicked it."

He stared at her with furrowed brows in slight fear before he raised his brows and shook his head. "Remind me to never get in a fight with you."

She let out a short laugh and stood next to him, a few inches of space between them. "Did you want something?"

He gave her a look, a slight smile on his face before he nodded and his face started to darken. "I never told you what happened in the pit did I? What happened in hell?"

Charlotte stared at him, her lips parted in shock. She hadn't been expecting this, _ever_. She could have guessed what had happened, already had an idea but the last thing she had been expecting was for Dean to tell her what had happened. She blinked twice before she found her voice and in a quiet tone said, "No."

He nodded once, took a few breaths and turned his gaze to the floor. "I was tortured, ripped apart and put back together to be ri-" he took a shaky breath and Charlotte could see him swallow, could almost hear the memories herself, "to be ripped apart all over again," he finished in a rush.

"Dean," she said gently and she placed a careful hand on his shoulder.

He shook his head, "Every, every day the demon that was torturing me, Alastair, he er, he would ask me one question." He took another breath and Charlotte squeezed his shoulder gently.

He didn't need to say any more, she got the idea, and she held on a little longer before she whispered, "I know." Dean looked up at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes, the pain that he couldn't hide naked across his face, "I know," she repeated, "you don't have to say."

"Every day," he mumbled and he leaned into her hand as he carried on in a quiet voice, "and I said yes because I was tired, because I was done trying to hold it together."

"Dean," she whispered and she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled his head down slightly to kiss his temple. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "you didn't deserve that."

"I didn't," he muttered, not moving away and he sniffed once as he grabbed her hip with one hand and tugged her against him. She moved into the touch and let him drag her between his legs so that he could wrap his arms around her waist and press his face into the crook of her neck. She sighed against him, her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I didn't deserve to go to hell," he said eventually against her skin, "just like you didn't deserve to be riding shotgun next to Lilith for months." Charlotte's eyes snapped open and she stared, her body still. "You were going through a tough time," he mumbled, "I get that, kind of. If I'd thought I'd lost you forever on that day I don't know where I'd be." Charlotte moved her gaze in Dean's direction but didn't move. She clung a little harder to him and buried her face a little more against his neck. She felt him tighten his hold on her too and heard him take a shaky breath.

They stood there in a comfortable silence for several minutes before Charlotte felt Dean's hand move. They started to slide to her hips, his fingers pressing into the skin slightly before he slid his hands up to rest just underneath the hem of her shirt. He pushed her back slightly and she let her hands rest on his shoulders as she stared down at him. She felt like she was being scrutinised as his eyes roamed over her body for several long seconds. He turned his head to look towards the back door of Bobby's house before he moved so that he could close the trunk of her car and press her against the cool metal of it. His hands dug in a little harder to her waist and she stared up at him, watching his eyes grow wide as they fixated on her right shoulder. She shivered at the memory of the vampires tearing a chunk out of it. There was still a slight scar there.

Dean lifted a hand and rested it on that shoulder, his thumb tracing over that point and she shivered, her lips parting. He tilted his head to one side slightly before he smiled and leaned down to draw her in for a deep kiss. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth for him, enjoying the feeling of him licking into her mouth in hot desperation and he was pressing his weight down on top of her. She curled one hand in the small tufts of hair at the base of his neck and moaned when he caught her bottom lip between his teeth before he let go. He tipped her head back with his nose underneath her chin and she gasped as his mouth left a trail of hot, teasing kisses, teeth scraping across skin down over her jaw and down her neck. Charlotte lifted one leg and propped it on the edge of the car as she arched her back into the touches.

It took her a few moments to realise he was growling words against her skin as he placed small biting kisses to her neck, "I don't want anybody else touching you," he growled and she curled her toes at the sound of his voice. She bit her lip with a soft moan and tilted her head back a little more, enjoying the attention he was giving her neck and shoulder. She felt him hesitate over the scar before he teased it gently and she nodded her head once. "No chick, no dude," he growled against her shoulder as he seemed to test the area, his hand pulling her shirt out of the way before he growled once more, "You're mine. Got that?"

And she felt him sink his teeth in hard and she clamped her hand over her mouth to stop the loud cry of pain and lust that washed through her system with that bite. She nodded as she twisted against him, her eyes glowing grey for a several seconds, and she was torn between wanting more and knowing that now was not the time. "Say it," he growled and he kissed the bite gently, making her mewl against him as she slowly pulled her hand away from her mouth.

"Yours," she whispered, "fuck Dean, yours, I'm _yours_."

"Good," he whispered with one final kiss before he gently traced the outline with his thumb. He let her shirt fall back into place before he lifted his head to look _down_ at her with wide eyes. She stared up at him with equally blown eyes, her lips parted and she tried to swallow down her lust. "Good," he repeated with a smile and he kissed her lips gently before he pulled away and stood up, tugging her up with him. "You okay?" he asked once she was on her feet.

She nodded and looked over at him with a smirk. She bit down on a comment and held onto his jacket next to his hip, "We good?"

His eyes drifted to her shoulder, to where she could still feel the bite pulse warmly under her shirt. It was going to start hurting like a bitch anytime soon, but jeez if she wasn't so turned on right now she would complain. "Yeah," he muttered and he nodded his head to the house as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in to kiss her temple, "we should get in there before Sammy and Natalie decide to get it on."

Charlotte chuckled and nodded her head, "If Sam even has the balls to make a move."

"Hey, that's my little brother you're talking about."

"They didn't even sleep together last time."

"Did they not?"

Charlotte shook her head as Dean frowned. "No, "another time" he told her."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the back door and pursed his lips, "Well that needs to change. And fast."

Charlotte chuckled, slapping a hand against his side as she slid out from under his arm and entered the house to see the two people in question talking away on the couch. Bobby was nowhere in sight and Dean grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the stairs. She happily followed and let him lead her to her bedroom before he laid himself down across her bed. She raised her brows at him and closed the door before she curled up next to him, "Comfy?"

He grinned and grabbed her waist, pulling her against his chest, "Am now." He pecked her mouth and sighed as he whispered against her lips, "No more secrets."

She smiled tightly and nodded. "No more." She kissed him once and bit her lip before she whispered, "I hate you Dean Winchester."

He grinned and nuzzled his nose against hers, "And I hate you too Charlotte _Winchester._" Her stomach warmed with those words and she closed her eyes with a soft sigh.


	24. 2009 February

**A/N:** I am so sorry this is late. It has been a long two weeks with personal stuff coming up and my mind being all over the place. Enjoy a longer chapter than normal and I am already working on the next one for you guys. There is some stuff in here that does get cleared up later just in case you think I'm missing stuff out or not explaining it and there are things here setting up for the future. Enjoy

2009 – February

_Colorado – Walden_

Charlotte frowned as she pulled up to an empty parking lot on the edge of town. She stayed sat in her car as she stared out of the wind shield, her hands twisting against the steering wheel. The Colt sat in the passenger seat next to her and she turned her attention to it with a deep frown. Lilith was in town and Charlotte hoped that no demons knew that she was here yet. It would be so easy to get out of her car, go the building she was hiding in and just kill her now, so easy.

But she didn't want to get out of her car. Not yet.

With a sigh she leaned back in her seat, tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear and scrolled through the contacts in her phone until she found Dean's number. She'd promised him that she'd keep him up to date with her hunting of Lilith, that she'd let him know where she was. He insisted that she not do anything until he and Sam were there but Charlotte knew how little time she actually had to get _anything_ done once she was in the same town as Lilith and that was _if_ Lilith didn't already know that she was here.

She tapped her finger against the side of her phone for several seconds before she sighed, stuffed her phone away and picked up the Colt. It had been hard enough to get this far, with a broken boiler, dislodged disc brake and a blown spark plug, but she certainly didn't want to lose this chance. She darted her tongue out to wet her lips as she hid the gun in the waistband of her jeans. Charlotte moved to the trunk of her car and kept her eyes darting to the surrounding area as she grabbed a bottle of holy water, a bag of salt and a silver knife. She needed subtlety and finesse, not to go in guns blazing.

And there was no telling how many people were already possessed by demons.

Charlotte closed the trunk of her car and started a slow walk to the nearest bar. She needed a drink first to settle the nerves that had started inside of her stomach. Memories of her time being possessed by Lilith came back and she could feel her insides twist in a wave of nausea. Inside the bar it was dark and she was glad that it was packed at eight in the evening as she slipped her way through the crowd to the bar and ordered a double whiskey, neat.

She sighed as she paid for the drink and held the glass in her hand, her eyes fixed on the amber liquid. In a few hours time Lilith would be dead and a lot of problems were sure to go away. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she focused on that thought and knocked back her drink in two gulps and set the empty glass down. Charlotte closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before she nodded to herself, ready, and turned and jumped off her seat.

Once she was outside again she took another deep breath and pulled out her phone. _Chedsey Motel._ She frowned as she started to walk slowly around the small town, trying to get her bearings and figure out a few routes that led back to her car. She made it back to the street that the motel was on and willed up one last ounce of courage before she started down it. Charlotte kept her eyes out and open for anything that seemed odd and out of place but nothing was screaming demon at her.

But that didn't stop the hairs on the back of her neck from rising and she willed the angel strength inside her to come to the surface. She'd been getting better at controlling it and she curled her hands into tight fists by her sides until she felt that familiar shift inside of her body, like something washing over her, and she relaxed a little better.

She kept her eyes glued on the upcoming motel, her feet working on autopilot down the opposite side walk and she found herself moving her hand to grab the handle of the Colt in preparation. "In, shoot, out, run," she muttered to herself. It wasn't much of a plan but it was the only plan she had. She gave the garage on her right a passing glance as she started to move past the first few windows before she focused back on the motel. Room 12 was what she was looking for and she counted the doors as quickly as she could, the sudden realisation that she'd probably have to go upstairs making her falter slightly.

A door opened to her right and Charlotte turned her head in time to see two pairs of hands grab onto her and jerk her through the door and into a brightly lit room. She was shoved with one hand around her throat against the nearest counter. There was a clunk of metal on the floor and she froze with the fear that that had been the Colt she'd just lost. "You really think you can sneak in here like this?" a guy in his late twenties sneered, eyes black and lips twisted into a snarl. Charlotte glared at him as he squeezed her throat an inch. "Lilith thought somebody was snitching, now we get the joys of knowing who."

"Yeah?" Charlotte choked out, "Who's that then?"

Another demon stepped forward and Charlotte's eyes narrowed to the Colt in his hands. "I'm sure Lilith will know when we hand her this."

"So we don't need her alive?"

Fear struck through her and she inched a hand to her jacket pocket. There was only two of them, if they hadn't called for backup, and Charlotte kept watching them as she found the bag of salt in her pocket. She quickly worked to bury her hand inside of it as the other demon turned to look at her with a malicious grin, "No, but Lilith did say that we could-"

Charlotte rose a fisted hand of salt and shoved it into the face of the demon with its hand around her throat. It flinched away and she took the momentary distraction to grab its wrist and raise a knee into its hip. The other demon moved forward and Charlotte felt the cold press of metal against her skull, stopping her in her tracks.

"On your knees," he snarled.

She turned her head an inch and felt a shiver run down her spine. The Colt. She eyed the gun before she flicked her eyes up to the demon and snarled a low, "No."

Something heavy struck the back of her knees and she hissed as she fell to her knees. That same something came swinging into her vision and her head was jerked to the side, blood running from her nose, lip and cheek as she landed on her hands. She blinked to try to clear her vision of her tears before somebody kicked at her side and she yelled out as she felt something break. "Should've listened to him, we would've made this nice and quick."

She managed to turn her head up to see the demon wielding a pipe wrench and she felt her head spin a little at the sight. Charlotte licked her lips and tasted blood before she spat a bloody drop onto the floor. "Go screw yourself," she muttered and she heard her phone go off.

The demons laughed at her and the one holding the Colt said, "Looks like somebody's going to have to wait." There was the sound of tearing skin and Charlotte blinked at the sight of a blade sticking out from the centre of the demons chest that had just spoken to her. He threw his head back with a yell as his body flashed a fiery orange, highlighting his skeleton before he slumped forward off the blade and onto the floor.

The blade flew in a quick flash into the other demons chest and Charlotte stared as he dropped the wrench with a scream before he fell to the ground too. She stared at the bodies before she slowly looked up to see Crowley looking down at her with narrowed eyes.

"Erm, thanks?" she muttered as she slowly, with a wince, pulled herself up to her feet.

"Somebody told me that Lilith knew somebody was stabbing her in the back," he started as he bent down to retrieve the fallen Colt and the blade that was still sticking out of the demons chest. His eyes moved to the blade he was looking over with mild interest before he said, "Efficient," and flicked his eyes back up to her, "I figured if I wanted to live, you needed to live too. Good thing too by the looks of it."

He held the gun out to her and Charlotte made a grab for it with a glare of, "I had it under control."

He pulled it just out of her reach with a slight tilt of his head, "Next time, I'll let them kill you first." He held the gun back out to her and took a step back once she took it from him, "By the way Lilith's still in town. Go get her tiger, and don't miss, cause I sure as hell don't."

He disappeared in the next moment and Charlotte glared at the spot he'd been standing in before she sighed and looked over the Colt in her hands. Her phone rang again and she groaned as she pulled it out of her pocket and eyed the ID with a frown. "Sam?" she answered.

"Dean's gone. The angels took him," she could hear him rummaging about as he spoke, "you know what for? To torture Alastair, the guy who tortured Dean in _hell_."

She frowned, her mouth working silently before she choked out a harsh, "Why?"

"Because want to know how Lilith's been killing angels."

Charlotte's frown didn't budge an inch as she carefully said, "What do mean killing angels?" Her eyes moved down to the two bodies in front of her and she did admit, the blade Crowley had been using did look familiar, she just hadn't gotten a good look at it.

Sam sighed and she could feel the bitch face he was pulling, "Somebody's killing angels and they're sure it's Lilith, they just don't know the how."

Charlotte bit her lip before her eyes fell to the gun in her hand. She closed her eyes with a silent groan and nodded. "They say where they were taking him?"

Sam scoffed, "If I knew that I'd already be there." She sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face. She winced when she caught her cheek and she could feel a bruise beginning around her eye. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she ground out, "where are you?"

"Cheyenne, Wyoming."

She bit her lip, hissed at the cut she caught her teeth on and shook her head. Lilith was right here, just over the road, and she had no idea Charlotte was here. "I'm on my way," she said, knowing that she'd be on her way just as soon as she was done.

"I'm already working on a way to find him."

"And?" Charlotte said and she moved to the nearest window to glance at the motel across the road. It looked nice and empty. "Sam, I'll help you find him alright. Just don't do anything stupid." She didn't give him chance to answer before she left the garage, made sure the door was locked and quickly crossed the road. She turned her eyes up and down the road, looked around the empty parking lot again and glanced at the door numbers.

_5...6...11...12!_

Upstairs and third to last door at the end. She shook her head and quickly took the steps two at a time. Out of habit she made sure she had a bullet in the chamber and quickly hurried down the small landing. "In, shoot, out," she muttered to herself as she glided silently past number 11 and stopped just before the window for number 12. There was a light was on and she peered around the edge to see the curtains closed. She closed her eyes, counted to three, ducked underneath the window and pressed herself gently against the wooden door, one hand on the handle.

With a small sigh, she turned the handle, shoved her shoulder into the door and burst into the room. She raised the gun and pointed it at the back of the woman in front of her and she smirked. "See you in hell you white eyed bitch," she hissed before she pulled the trigger and watched her turn with wide, afraid eyes.

It wasn't her.

It wasn't Lilith.

Charlotte felt her heart stop as she stared in horror at a set of familiar brown eyes that widened in shock before Natalie slumped forward onto her knees. "No," Charlotte whispered, stepping forward and abandoning the gun. "No, no, no, no, no," she muttered as she grabbed Natalie's shoulders and held her up. There was a trickle of red coming from the corner of her mouth and Charlotte felt her eyes sting with warm tears. "No, I didn't- what are- no, don't you- I'm sorry-" she babbled as Natalie looked at her with distant, confused eyes and Charlotte felt every inch of her body run wild with panic and fear, "You weren't- don't, please don't- please- not you- wasn't supposed to, Nat-" She felt Natalie go limp in her arms and she sobbed as she grabbed one hand underneath her chin and willed her awake, to take back the past few seconds, "You weren't supposed to be here," Charlotte warbled through heavy tears. Her hands shook as she looked at Natalie's passive face, "It wasn't supposed to be you, Nat, please, I'm sorry," she managed before she howled, pulling head into the crook of her shoulder with desperate pleas for Natalie to wake up like this was some kind of bad joke. "Please, don't, I can't lose you, no, no, no, Nat, Natalie."

Charlotte screwed her eyes shut as she screwed a hand into the back of Natalie's shirt and held her close, sobbing uncontrollably. "Please," she pleaded, "please, just, please."

"Cas," she whispered eventually, "help me. Zachariah?" She felt her chest heave with the oncoming wave of new tears and she whined as she closed her eyes and shook her head, "Tricky?" Nobody. Nothing. "Anna? Please?" She cried harder, begging every angel, any angel to help her. "Please," she sobbed.

After what felt like forever she opened her eyes with choked tears and lifted Natalie away from her to stare at her blank face again. Her breath hitched with another threat of more tears and she closed her eyes, her whole face shaking with the effort to hold herself together enough to lift Natalie up and lay her down on the bed behind her. She smoothed her hair away from her face, wiped a hand over her own face and stood up with deep breaths. With shaky hands she grabbed her phone and dialled 8. When he picked up she simply said, "Get here. Now," and hung up.

Within seconds she could feel Crowley behind her and it was a few more seconds before she could see him out of the corner of her eyes standing next to her and staring at Natalie. Charlotte balled her hand into a fist as she stared at Natalie, hating herself for not double checking the facts. "That's unfortunate," Crowley remarked dryly.

Charlotte turned, grabbed the front of his coat and slammed him back into the wall. She pressed against him, her face barely an inch away from his and growled, "Bring her back. I don't care what it takes." Without waiting for a response she surged forward and pressed her mouth to his. She grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him angrily for several seconds before she stepped back, her shoulders rising and falling with heavy pants.

He stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed and a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Anything goes huh?"

"Bring her back. Now."

He took a step towards Charlotte and she fixed her watery glare on him as he smirked, "You live as long as you like, but the moment you die, and I don't care how, why or when, I don't care if there's an angel by your side to fix you, you stay dead and your soul is mine."

"Done," Charlotte whispered.

The last thing she saw before he left was his grin, then Natalie was jerking awake on the bed, a hand on her chest and deep, heavy breaths moving her entire body. Charlotte turned and fell to her knees, her head pressed to the covers as she felt new tears overcome her. "I'm sorry," she started and she reached out blindly for anything and found Natalie's hand in both of hers. She lifted tear stained eyes to see Natalie staring at her in shock and fear but Charlotte carried on, "You weren't supposed to be here, I didn't mean to. Why were you here? I mean," she blabbered on, her voice breaking with each word and her syllables messy, "I would never, never hurt you, not you, not intentionally. I'm so sorry, please, I didn't, I wouldn't-"

Before Charlotte knew it there were fingers pressed against her lips and it took her panic, afraid mind a few seconds to realise they were Natalie's fingers and she frowned as she stared up at the other woman with wide pleading eyes. She couldn't stop staring at the blood track that was still drying on her face. Charlotte could feel her lips quiver and shake underneath Natalie's touch.

"I know," Natalie said simply before she shook her head, "I was in New Mexico, now I'm here. You were looking for somebody else."

Charlotte stared up in confused panic and she couldn't help the slightly warbled, high pitched, "I shot you!"

Natalie nodded and Charlotte could see the sad look in her eyes, "You were looking for somebody else and I wasn't supposed to be here."

Charlotte shook her head as she leaned back on her knees slightly. "I shot you," she mumbled through a mess of tears. "Be mad, don't, don't be okay with that," she muttered before she felt more tears start in her eyes.

Natalie frowned at and Charlotte leaned back a little more as Natalie swung her legs over the side of the bed to face Charlotte full on. "Remember that With job in Kentucky? The one where I stabbed you an inch away from your heart? You forgave me because you knew I would never do that. You didn't mean to, you wouldn't, I know that, you would never kill me. Not by your choice." Natalie reached a hand out and cupped Charlotte's cheek with a sad smile, "And I was dead. So what did you do?"

Charlotte closed her eyes and shook her head, "I shot you," she repeated.

"Hey." She opened her eyes to see Natalie frowning down at her, "I forgive you. I know you, so I forgive you. Now what did you do?" At Charlotte's own frown Natalie sighed, "I was dead, now I'm alive. What did you do?"

Her bottom lip shook for several seconds before she shook her head with a tiny shrug, "I don't, I don't know."

* * *

Anna eyed Remiel carefully, making sure he was completely asleep before she grabbed the knife that he'd used for the ritual and made a small slice across the palm of her hand. She glanced back at him and turned back to the bowl that was still filled with burnt out ingredients. She closed her eyes and squeezed her hand into a fist, feeling the blood trickle down her hand and drop into the bowl. Her lips moved with a quiet incantation that would benefit her. Just as she finished the last words she opened her eyes and watched the ingredients and blood flash a dull blue before they dulled into nothing but ashes and she smiled to herself as she glanced back at Remiel.

"This is the way it has to be," she said sadly.

* * *

_'I've damned my soul to hell, no to _Crowley_,' _Charlotte thought dumbly to herself as she and Natalie walked across town to her car. That single thought had been plaguing her mind and questions as to why Crowley had said that her soul was 'his' and not 'hell's', it made her worry. _'But he said whenever I next die, whether or not somebody saves me._' That was the other thought that had her silently walking by Natalie's side.

Once they reached the empty parking lot where Charlotte was parked she sniffed and wiped a hand over her face again, her eyes still stinging from the tears. Natalie nudged her shoulder and she blinked up at her warily. Natalie passed her a tight smile and nodded her head, "I forgive you remember. You can talk to me. What's going through your head?"

_'Besides eternal damnation of being Crowley's plaything, nothing, except-' _She stopped in her tracks and stared wide eyed at Natalie. "Crap, Dean, angels, Lilith, I-" She closed her eyes with a groan and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and finger.

"Hey," Natalie said, her hand on Charlotte's arm a warm presence, "hey." Charlotte slowly lowered her arm to look at sadly and Natalie just smiled, "What's going on? What about Dean?"

She sighed and took a large breath before she said, "Somebody's been killing angels and they've taken Dean to interrogate Alastair, the guy who tortured Dean in hell by the way, and by interrogate I mean torture because Alastair was the _King_ of torture apparently." She shook her head and took another breath, "Now Sam's trying to find a way to track him and I was supposed be helping him already and I-"

A hand on each of their shoulders made them jump and before either of them could utter a word another voice called out, "Charlotte?"

Both women turned to see Castiel perched on the edge of a table with a confused look on his face. A scream came from a door behind him and his face dropped into one of concern. "What just happened?" Natalie whispered, her eyes fixed on Castiel. "Castiel? As in the angel Castiel?"

Charlotte's eyes were drawn to the door and she glared at Castiel before she started to march towards it. "You son of a bitch," she muttered but he moved to stand in her way, a hand on her chest. She glared at him and whispered dangerously, "Move."

To his credit, Charlotte saw the hesitation before he said, "I can't. We need answers."

"I get that," she muttered, "but he's human. This alone, will break him." There was another scream and Charlotte's eyes moved to the door with panic. "Please, don't make him do this anymore. Stop this. The demons wouldn't have done this."

He narrowed his eyes at her, his hand not moving and she could feel the simple force on her chest that kept her back. "Then who else has anything to gain by killing angels?"

"I don't care who Cas, just get out of my way."

She shoved at his chest, mustering up the anger inside of her and he stumbled back two paces before he grabbed her arm and jerked her away from the door. She swung, fist colliding with his jaw and his head snapped to one side in surprise. There was a dull ache in her hand but Charlotte pulled on her arm.

Slowly he turned to face her, eyes narrowed in confusion as another scream ripped loose from the door. "You're getting stronger."

"If Lilith was behind this, do you think she'd kill a handful of angels? She'd kill hundreds at a time and sign the floor with her name in their fucking _blood_. It is _not_ the demons," she lowered her voice to a dangerous whisper, "and you guys let Dean rot in hell until he cave and broke the first the seal, you _let_ him, you _left _him there." She shook her head and almost growled with each word, "Now. Get. Him. Out."

It was a few seconds before Natalie stepped forward, her eyes darting between Cas, Charlotte and the door and she laid a hand on each of their shoulders, "Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's been too quiet for too long."

Both angel and half-angel looked at Natalie, blinked, looked at one another then the door before they let go of one another and moved. Cas reached the door first and Charlotte was right behind him. Her eyes widened and she felt Natalie stop behind her. Dean was clutched by the front of his shirt whilst Alastair punched his face. Without thinking she moved to the table that looked like it held torturing instruments and reached for the nearest knife. Cas was already spinning Alastair around and Charlotte watched Dean fall, eyes blinking in a daze. Cas stabbed Alastair in the chest and Charlotte watched as it did almost nothing. "Crap," Natalie whispered.

She watched as the knife turned by itself in his chest and she turned to stare at Cas, who looked a little smug as his fingers moved. A force was shoved against her chest and Charlotte was thrown back into a wall. She watched as Natalie was thrown back and out of the room before Alastair rushed Cas.

Charlotte coughed, her broken ribs aching and she scrambled over to Dean whilst Cas and Alastair traded punches. "Dean?" she whispered, cupping his face in her hands, "Dean?"

"Char?" he whispered painfully.

She smiled and kissed his head, "I'm here."

A hand grabbed the front of her throat and she was yanked up, off her feet and slammed back down against the floor, her head bouncing painfully. She felt something jar everywhere in her body and pain flood her system. The world went black for a while as her ears sung and her head whined and she wheezed before the world came back to her and she was staring up at the bloodied face of Alastair. Her eyes moved past him to see Cas struggling against something. "So you're the broad Dean swoons over huh? Not what I expected if I'm honest. A mutty half breed whore." He chuckled and she clawed at his hand around her throat. She still couldn't find the energy to breathe properly and her body still ached sharply. "Stay there," he growled before he lifted her head back up.


	25. 2009 February part 2

**A/N: **Hey guys I'm back! I'll be updating this story on Thursday's again and I should be getting back into the swing of things. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back on my feet but this story is not dead and it will continue.

Again, I'm sorry for making you guys wait like you have done. Please enjoy and let me know what you think.

Warning: There's quite a bit of going into Dean's mind and it's not the best of places. Sorry.

2009 – February

Part 2

_Wyoming – Cheyenne_

_Beeps... Pain... Everywhere... An ache in his chest... The smell of stale cleanliness... "The first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in hell."... "As he breaks, so shall it break."..._

Dean slowly flicked his eyes open with a small wheezing breath. It hurt to do that. It hurt to breathe. He scrunched his eyes shut and dug his fingers into the bed sheets to ride out a small wave of pain before he dared to open his eyes again to the brightly lit room. It took his blurred vision a few moments to adjust before he fixed his gaze on a series of machines with wires leading up to his battered body. He could feel something cold running along his cheeks and he realised he was wearing a nasal cannula to help him to breathe. He let out a gasp and slowly moved his head to look at the only chair in his room.

Empty.

He closed his eyes again and tried to ride out the brief spurt of fire inside his chest before he let out another heavy, shaky breath. The last thing his mind told him he remembered was Alastair informing Dean that he'd broken the first seal. He knew there was other stuff; Alastair getting free and beating the crap out of him, but his brain was caught on those words and what they meant.

Dean had jump started the apocalypse. It was his fault the world was going to go down the drain. He felt his breathing rise a little and with it a new wave of aches twisted inside of his chest, making him gasp painfully. The apocalypse. He screwed his eyes shut and let his head tilt back against the pillow as he tried to convince himself that somehow, it was a dream, that it actually hadn't happened but the truth lay in his bruised and battered body.

He'd broke.

"Dean?"

He snapped his eyes open and turned tired eyes to Sam who took a few steps into the room and looked Dean over once with a light smile. "Sam," he muttered.

"How you feeling?"

He couldn't bring himself to joke, to make a remark about how it feels like the nurses got a little handsy when they changed him out of his clothes. All he could do was give Sam _the_ look that said plenty, that this time it had hurt. This time, Dean had no words and he turned his gaze away from Sam. He couldn't look him in the eyes, didn't want to, not after knowing what he'd done.

"I'll go grab you some food," Sam mumbled and Dean just nodded at the excuse to give him some space to himself. He didn't need it, but he wanted it, craved it. He scoffed to himself, his eyes drifting to the empty door frame for a few seconds and his mind flashed back to almost three years ago when he'd stood in a similar door frame and watched as Doctors failed to save his father's life.

He took another deep breath, closed his eyes and turned his head away from the offending empty space but his mind wouldn't stop going over what had happened, over Alastair's words and the beating he'd received. He could feel every bruise across his body with every inch that he shifted and he tried to remember exactly what had happened since Alastair had gotten free and used him as a punching bag.

He remembered seeing a flash of blue eyes before he fell to the ground... _"Crap_," somebody had whispered, Natalie he was sure, and Dean was sure he was fighting a darkness inside his own mind. There was the sound of several people moving, then Charlotte's voice coaxing him awake..._"Dean?" "Char?" …. _Then she was gone and he remembered Alastair saying something before he lost the ability to cling to reality.

"Charlotte," he whispered to himself with a frown, making a move to sit up in his bed. He hissed in pain and could hear the monitors race with his movements.

"Hey, hey, relax, Dean, relax, you're not going anywhere," Sam urged as he tried to press Dean back against the bed.

Dean tried to shake his brother's hands off of him but only succeeded in making himself grunt in pain before he managed to sit up, pillows stacked up behind him. "Charlotte? Natalie? Are they alright?"

There was a hesitation before Sam said, "They're fine, both just resting in a different room. I checked in on them, they're fine."

Dean frowned at his brother, his body screaming for him to sleep and he closed his eyes and let the pain in as he muttered, "What's happened?"

"Dean-"

"What's happened?" Dean urged, his breaking voice laced with pain, fear and worry.

There was a few seconds before Sam gave his brother an uncertain look and shook his head, "I don't know. But they're alive and going to be fine."

* * *

Natalie couldn't stop drumming her fingers on the edge of the arm rest, her eyes focused on nothing as she stared at the bed. Every now and then she managed to flick her eyes to Charlotte's sleeping form before she went back to tapping her fingers nervously whilst freaking out about what she'd seen.

Sam... doing something- _demonic_. She didn't want to use that word, didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't think of any other way to describe what she'd seen. Sam had marched in their, raised his hand, slammed Alastair against the wall and killed him. Sam had killed a demon with his bare hands, without even touching him.

It scared her and she couldn't stop thinking about how a person could possibly do that without something evil helping. He'd come in before to ask her how she was – a migraine had left her light-headed whenever she stood up – and to ask how Charlotte was doing. She couldn't look him in the eyes without staring, trying to figure out what she couldn't see. She'd muttered something about Charlotte needing the rest and that she was fine with a knocked head and a few bruises. She could feel Sam staring at her, could feel the shift in the air between them and almost breathed a sigh of relief when he made an excuse to check on Dean.

There was a noise from the bed and Natalie looked up to see Charlotte groan, one arm curled up across her stomach as she turned in the bed to face her, her knees drawn part of the way up to her chest. It took a few moments for Charlotte to open her eyes and another few seconds before she focused on Natalie with tired eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Natalie whispered as she sat up in her chair a little.

Charlotte shrugged one shoulder and Natalie's eyes were drawn to the finger line bruises across her neck. "I don't know," she croaked, her eyes crinkling in pain. A severely bruised throat meant that talking was painful.

Natalie leaned back in her seat, her eyes starting to drift off with her mind. She wasn't focused on Charlotte as she spoke, "The Doctor said that you could be released later, just rest and take it easy," and the words sounded distant, almost as if she wasn't conscious that she was saying them.

There was silence for several seconds, Natalie lost in her own thoughts and theories before she heard Charlotte croak, "What?"

Natalie shook her head with a crease in her brows. "It's nothing."

"Nat," she murmured, her face twisting as she carried on speaking in a whisper, "something's bugging you, I know you so don't-"

"Stop talking." Charlotte clamped her mouth shut and stared up at Natalie with tired, waiting eyes. Natalie sighed and put her head in her hands with a shake of her head. "It's Sam," she mumbled between her fingers. After a few seconds she pulled her face away to look at Charlotte as she explained to her what she'd seen and how Sam had acted so calmly afterwards and how she'd freaked out when Sam had tried to see if she was alright.

She waited... and waited...

Eventually Charlotte's eyes darkened and she glared at the door. "Tell Sam I want to talk to him," she grumbled, voice laced with pain, soreness and venom.

"No, you need to rest."

"I need to knock some sense into that idiot," she mumbled, making a start to sit up.

Natalie reached forward and pushed back down against Charlotte's shoulders. "One, you're not going anywhere. Two, shut up, you shouldn't be talking and I know I'm going to regret asking this," she moved away once she was satisfied Charlotte wasn't going to getting up again and reached for some paper and a pen the nurses had given them to help ease Charlotte's throat, "but _why_ would you want to kick his ass?"

Natalie could feel electricity in the air with the tension in Charlotte's shoulders as she stared at her. There was something going on, something she didn't know and Natalie regretted asking the question. But she needed to know. It wasn't right and Charlotte's reaction hadn't been what she had expected.

Charlotte took the paper and pen and sat up with a wince, her body hunching at the waist slightly before she glanced at Natalie again, sighed and started to write:

_Before I explain anything else know that Sam is still Sam. _

Natalie nodded and waited, worried about what Charlotte was going to write down. There was hesitation in her hands before she started to write again:

_When Sam was a baby this demon, Azazel came along and wanted to use him as part of a demon army. He poured some of his own blood into Sam which gave him some weird powers. There were others like him, others with demon blood inside of them. _

Charlotte's hand paused and Natalie's eyes just stared at the page. Demon blood? _Demon blood? Demon army? _She dug her fingers into the arms of the chair as she tried to rationalise that Sam didn't ask for it, that he had no choice in that matter. She also tried to remind herself that it was still Sam. Right?

_Look he can do some weird stuff, Dean's been telling me. But apparently whilst Dean was in hell Sam met a demon called Ruby and started to do stuff_. _Dean was vague on the details but I got the gist that-_

Natalie stood up, not giving Charlotte a chance to finish the sentence she was on. "What kind of weird stuff?" she muttered, her back to the other woman as she ran a hand over her mouth. She'd never heard of this kind of thing and finding out that there was something deeply wrong with Sam, it frightened her a little, especially after what she'd seen him do.

* * *

Sam stood on the periphery of the room with a worried frown. Natalie had gone out to get some food for herself and Charlotte and Sam had tried to talk to her again, but she'd brushed him with a, "Not now Sam." He wanted to apologise to Natalie, explain everything to her because he knew that she'd seen him, seen what he had done. She'd barely looked at him and it hurt to know that she couldn't bear to anywhere near him.

Charlotte had seen the awful attempt at a conversation and he watched as she clenched a hand around her stomach and shifted with a hiss of pain. "So when are you going to tell me how bad it is?"

She glared at him as he entered the room. "Two broken ribs," she managed.

Sam pinched his eyes shut with a sigh, "Sorry, I forgot about your throat." She didn't stop glaring at him and he sat down in Natalie's chair with another sigh. He fixed his eyes on her and watched as her gaze slowly softened before she looked away and hung her head. He noticed now how tired and worn out she looked, how exhausted every inch of her body looked. "Natalie wouldn't tell me what was wrong with you, just that you needed rest."

"Broken ribs," Charlotte snapped dully, her eyes not quite focusing on Sam.

He watched as her fingers fiddled with the sheet that was covering her legs and he reached out to grab her hand and still her nervous fingers. She froze and he squeezed her hand. "I've seen you ready to kick demons asses with more than just a couple of broken ribs, how bad is it?"

She stared at his hand a moment longer before she let out a shallow laugh and turned her head away from him with a pitiful expression. She pulled her hand away from his and brought her knees up to her chest. He'd never seen her look so vulnerable before and he straightened up a little as he listened to her voice shake out a small, "It's bad, I guess." She shrugged and he watched as she sniffed and wiped a hand over face. "Probably for the best," she whispered hoarsely and he frowned as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Charlotte?" he frowned, leaning forward in his seat.

She raised a hand to her mouth and shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. Her other hand tightened its hold on the sheets and he watched in despair as she started to cry, still shaking her head as she covered her eyes with her hand, with both hands, and cried.

"Charlotte?" Natalie said and Sam stood up as Natalie rushed to her side. The other hunter perched herself on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her against her chest. Sam watched on fear as Charlotte clung to Natalie and shook her shoulders with muffled tears. Natalie glanced up at Sam with an uneasy expression and sighed. "What were you two talking about?"

"I asked her what was wrong with her, what was really wrong and she just-"

"Jesus Christ," Natalie muttered as she felt Charlotte press herself further against her frame. "Do not tell Dean," she warned.

"Nat?"

She let go of Charlotte with one hand to reach out for the pen and paper Charlotte had been using. She flipped it to a clean page and wrote three word; _She was pregnant._

* * *

"Are you alright?"

"No thanks to you."

"You need to be more careful."

If Dean had more energy he'd hiss at Cas, but his entire body still ached and he took a breath before he mumbled, "You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap." He'd been surprised Cas had turned up in the first place, even more surprised that he was asking how Dean was, but the last thing he needed was to be told to be more careful when it wasn't his fault.

Castiel spoke gently, his voice low as he said, "That's not what I mean. Uriel is dead."

Dean had the heart to look a little sorry for Cas. "Was it the demons?"

Cas looked away with a firm expression and Dean could see regret in the angel's eyes. "It was disobedience. He was working against us."

Dean met his gaze for a few seconds before he looked away, his mind shouting for him to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind since he woke up, since Alastair had told him. He licked his lips and took another breath to steady himself before he looked back up to Cas and carefully asked, "Is it true? Did I break the first seal? Did I start all this?" By the time he'd finished his words started to sound fearful of the truth.

"Yes."

Dean looked away. He'd been hoping that it was all wrong, that it wasn't true. There'd been a small part of him that had been wishing that it was an awful joke the universe was having at his expense. Another part of him had hoped Cas wouldn't have been so blunt about it. If he felt bad before he felt worse now.

"When we discovered Lilith's plan for you," Cas started and Dean could almost hear the reluctance in Cas' voice. The angel wanted to believe his words but something was telling Dean that Cas wasn't quite so certain of himself, "we laid siege to hell and we fought our way to get to you before you-"

"Jump started the apocalypse?"

There was a pause before Cas said, "We were too late."

Dean took a sharp intake of breath. If he'd held out a little longer then this wouldn't have happened. If he'd been stronger then he could've stopped this before it had started. "Why didn't you just leave me there, then?" he asked, his voice almost shaking with anger at himself.

"It is not blame that falls on you, Dean," Cas started and Dean partly hoped that the carefully constructed words coming out of his mouth would bring relief, "it's fate." It didn't help, it only made him feel worse. Fate meant that it was supposed to happen, that he was supposed to go to hell and rip apart those souls. Fate meant that he was supposed to enjoy what he did and he felt himself hate himself that little bit more. "The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it."

Redeem himself? Make up for what he'd done? The death that was coming? The end of the world? Dean needed more than ambiguity for an answer. "Lucifer?" he started, watching Cas carefully with fear in his voice. His hands were shaking by his sides as he spoke, finding himself growing more worried with each passing word that came out of his mouth. "The apocalypse? What does that mean?" He watched Cas look away, a frown creasing his own brows and he knew that any moment Cas was about to fly away to find his own answers, but Dean was desperate for answers of his own. "Hey!" he mustered, trying to chase away the panic that was fighting inside of his chest, "Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"Bull!" Cas was an angel, angels were all knowing right? _Right_?

"I don't," Cas reiterated, turning to give Dean a firm look that told him the angel wasn't lying and he could see a slight ebb of concern in his eyes. "Dean, they don't tell me much. I know, our fate rests with you."

Dean's breath hitched in his throat. He never asked for this. He never asked to have his soul ripped apart. He never asked to try to hold out against an infinity of pain and suffering like he'd never experienced before. He never asked to become a hunter. He never asked for any of this and he didn't dare stop the self doubt and matter of fact hurt that crept into his voice as he said, "Well then you guys are screwed." He felt his eyes begin to sting and the tears started to creep into his voice with a tone of vulnerability, "I can't do it Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right, I'm not all here. I'm not- I'm not strong enough." He had to pause to take a shaky breath, to finish what he'd started saying. It was too much to ask of him, of one guy who wants nothing to do with this. The look Cas gave him was pitying and it broke the hold Dean had had on his tears. He let them go, turning to look away from the angel to save himself some grace. "Well I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me."


	26. 2009 February part 3

**A/N:** I almost didn't have this chapter ready for you guys cause I've seriously injured my leg and was worried I would need to go to the hospital. But here it is with some daddy!Bobby or Bobby being all fatherly and stuff. Enjoy and please let me know what you guys think.

2009 – February

Part 3

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

When Bobby had heard about what had happened he had told the four of them to use his place to rest, to make sure they were "good and proper 'fore you even think about looking at another monster." What he hadn't expected was the strained silence and the tension that clung to every single person that walked through his door.

"That bad huh?" he'd commented, making a move towards the special bourbon he saved for such occasions. What really threw him was the way Charlotte slinked upstairs with heavy steps, dragging herself up each stair without a word whilst Dean went straight for the beer in the fridge. He winced and stumbled with each step, a wheeze coming out of his mouth a couple of times before he retreated to the spare bedroom to "Sleep for an eternity."

He lost track of how long they spent there, but one thing Bobby could say is that there was a little more to the story then he was being told. He'd tried to wrangle it out of Sam and Natalie, but both of them said that they weren't the ones to talk about Charlotte's problem and that with Dean they had no idea.

He decided to try to tackle Dean first, who he was certain was watching the old TV in the spare bedroom if the noise was anything to go by. Bobby made his way up the stairs with a fresh bottle of beer in his hand, hesitated outside Charlotte's room, then moved on with a small shake of his head. _One kid at a time_. He'd seen more of Dean. It may have just been to grab beer, food or to go out to grab more food and beer with a scowl and barely a word, but he'd heard Dean speak and had seen him. He'd hardly seen Charlotte and couldn't remember the last time he'd heard her talk.

The last time she was that quiet was after her Dad had died and Bobby would deny that he was a coward for wanting to avoid _that_ kind of emotion again.

So he knocked once on the closed door and pushed it open to see Dean propped up in bed, a nice grouping of empty beer bottles on the night stand with food packages gathered into one pile on the floor and dirty clothes tossed into another. "You best clean this place up before you even _think_ of leaving again."

Dean ducked his eyes and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "Sorry," he mumbled and he slowly pushed himself to his feet and reached down for an old bag.

"Leave it for now," Bobby said with a shrug as he kicked the door closed again and held out a beer to Dean. "Wanna talk?"

Dean's eyes flicked from the bottle to Bobby's face before he clucked his tongue, gritted his teeth and looked away. "Nothing to talk about." It was a moment before he looked back at the bottle and took it with a small, "Thanks."

There was the sound of beer being sipped before Bobby nodded his head once in Dean's direction and said, "You know, it don't matter what you did or what happened. The important thing is that you're here and alive." There was a brief flicker to the corner of Dean's lips and Bobby tried a little more. "Hell we couldn't get rid of you even if we tried." Dean met Bobby's gaze then and Bobby gave him a warm smile, "And we wouldn't have it any other way."

Dean managed a small smile and Bobby watched him think a moment before he said, "You'll get tired of me eventually."

Bobby grinned and shrugged a shoulder, "Already tired of you drinking all my beer and eating all of my food."

Dean let out a laugh at that, ducking his head with a grin as he wiped a hand over his face. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, now you gonna join us or keep kicking yourself for something that wasn't your fault?"

Dean's smiled slipped from his face as he looked up at Bobby. There was a moment where the older hunter wasn't certain if he could see a level of understanding in the younger man's eyes. It was a few moments before Dean nodded his head once and took a silent sip of beer. "Sure."

The smile he put on was strained but Bobby let him have it as he said, "Alright. And I mean it, whatever it is that's eating you up, stop. It is not your fault son."

Dean nodded again and mumbled, "Yeah."

Bobby tried for a warm smile before he made a start back to the door, "Whenever you're ready." He closed the door behind him to give Dean a little space, took a breath himself and stopped outside of Charlotte's door. He waited a moment to see if he could hear anything.

Silence.

He closed his eyes for a moment before he gently tapped the wood with his knuckle and inched the door open. "Say nothing for me to come in, say 'no' for me to ignore whatever you tell me." When he could finally see into the room he noted a nibbled sandwich on a plate on the dresser by her bed. Natalie had been bringing food to her, afraid that she wouldn't eat otherwise. Bobby was worried over the fact that he hadn't seen her for the best part of a week, never mind heard her. She was curled up in bed with her back to the door, the covers pulled tight up to her neck.

"What?" she whispered and Bobby could almost hear the anger in her voice.

Bobby closed the door gently and didn't say anything until he eased himself onto the edge of the bed with a small sigh. "What happened?" he whispered back, watching her carefully. She was just staring at the opposite wall and Bobby would give anything to know what was going through her head.

She snorted and tugged the cover underneath her chin. "Just a punch to reality," she hissed quietly.

He frowned as he turned more to face her, silently begging her to at least look at him. "You wanna try that one again?"

Charlotte flicked her eyes up to Bobby and for a moment Bobby felt the full force of her glare before it crumbled into fear as she looked away again. "Do-" she started in a whisper, "do you think-" she shifted, turning her head more into her pillow, "-that some people just aren't-" she made a noise that Bobby hadn't heard her make in almost fifteen years. She sniffled and shook her head gently before she mumbled almost too quietly, "Just aren't supposed to have _certain_ things, certain... opportunities?"

He turned completely, one leg up on the bed with a deep frown. "Like what?" She shrugged by way of answer and Bobby could see the glimmer of fresh tear tracks slide over her nose. "Honey, I don't know what-"

"I miscarried."

Bobby turned the words over in his mind for a few moments before he closed his eyes with a silent sigh. No wonder she'd locked herself away. "From what I understand, you were physically-"

Charlotte shook her head with a tiny sob. "I asked that. Doctor's said that it was a little earlier." She furrowed her brows and Bobby laid a hand on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze. "Do you think it's cause I'm part angel?"

"Charlotte, one loss does not mean you'll never get the chance."

She turned her eyes up to him with a fearful expression, "And what if it does? What if I never get the chance?" Anger started to intertwine with her words as she spoke. "I want to be able to stop hunting, to have a family that doesn't have to deal with this. I want _that_," she started and tears started to fall. "How am I supposed to deal with that? How am I supposed to be okay with that? How-" she choked, her lips quivering and she shook her head with a vague arm gesture towards the door, "How am I supposed to tell Dean that?"

She broke off into a new fit of sobs and Bobby had to close his eyes and take a few deep breaths as he tried to desperately pull her against his side. He was glad she allowed him to as her arms wrapped themselves around his waist. "You tell him what happened, be honest. He'll understand."

"But what if-"

"Charlotte, shut up. You're talking bull and you know it." He felt her stiffen slightly but he knew he had her attention. "It was once, there was a lot of stuff going on and even if it never happens, Dean ain't going to care. Least he shouldn't if he doesn't want me to kick his ass." There was a teary chuckle from Charlotte at that and Bobby took that as a victory. "Trust me girl, it'll happen and you'll make a great mother." He kissed her temple and stroked a hand over her head. "You'll be fine, I promise."

She nodded her head gently and slowly pulled away from Bobby, wiping at her face with the back of her hands. "Yeah," she mumbled with a tiny smile, "sure."

He smiled at her and rested his hand on her knee. "Get some rest, and come join us for some real food alright kiddo?" She nodded her head and he stood up, "And talk to Dean tomorrow. He needs to know." She nodded again and Bobby left her room with a small breath and made his way back downstairs to grab a beer for himself.

* * *

That afternoon Dean made an appearance for food and started to ask Natalie about where she was from. Their conversation eventually landed on the fact that Natalie needed to take her car in for a tune up or something, "Because there's this awful noise coming from the engine and I think something's leaking."

"I'll take a look," Dean had offered as he finished the bite of a sandwich he was halfway through.

"You will?"

He shrugged a shoulder, "Save you the money. Where are you parked?"

It wasn't until the evening when Charlotte appeared and she made her hesitant way to the kitchen for some toast. Sam had followed her in and asked her how she was doing. "Okay, I guess," she'd mumbled before she turned around and started to joke if there was a book Bobby owned that "You nerd hasn't read yet?"

Sam had smiled and shook his head, "He owns like an entire library. How am I supposed to read it all by the time I'm twenty-six?"

"With your nerd powers?"

* * *

It was later that night that Charlotte and Dean finally met each other's eyes and held them with tight, soft smiles. Charlotte bit her lip and nodded her head to the stairs with a quiet murmur of, "Can we talk? Upstairs?" She'd made a grab for his hand and he let her pull him up behind her.

When they were hidden away in her room she sat down on the edge of the bed with him and took several deep breaths, her eyes not meeting his as she tried to figure out the best way to tell him. "Dean," she started before she stopped and shook her head with a sigh. "I- there was, I mean..." she groaned and wiped her hands over face.

"Charlotte?" he started, worried for where this was going. All he knew is that it was something to do with what the doctors wouldn't tell him or Sam. "Is it bad?"

She shook her head before she paused and shrugged her shoulder. "Depends how you look at it," she mumbled before she finally looked at him. "I was... p- pr-" she had to look away as she whispered, "pregnant. I was pregnant."

There was a moment of silence and Charlotte held her breath as she dared to look up at Dean. He was staring at her, face blank of any expression as he simply stared. Eventually he seemed to move as he whispered, "You- you were," his eyes moved down to her stomach before he blinked with a small frown, "with- mine?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

Dean seemed to take a moment before he reacted, his face screwing up and his lips parted slightly. He tried to say something but he didn't know what and he made shapes with his mouth, forming silent words as his breathing started to rise. "You-," he mumbled disbelievingly before he bit his lip hard and ran a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah," she mumbled sadly again. Dean couldn't seem to get anything else out as he stared blankly with a deep frown at nothing. Charlotte reached out for his hand and squeezed it gently. That grabbed his attention as he flicked his eyes to her.

"We could've," he started, a sad smile on his face.

"I know," she whispered with a quiver in her voice as she tightened her grip on Dean's hand. "I know."


	27. 2009 March

**A/N:** Sorry **sarahmichellegellerfan1 **for giving you false hope. There'll be some good news at some point I promise you. **Wolfenergy17**, I actually want to thank you! You've given me plenty more ideas ^^

I'm busy all of tomorrow so I'm going to upload it today whilst I can. Little warning, it's going to get a little creepy I think. So I apologise.

2009 – March

_Delaware – Newark_

Dean frowned as he watched Charlotte yank her stuff out of the trunk of the Impala and stomp to the motel room. He knew she wanted to take this one alone, but he couldn't, _he _needed the space from everything just as much as she did. It had been one hell of an argument as she'd thrown stuff together into a bag, which had ended in her huffing a, "Fine! Whatever! Let's just go kill something," before she'd stormed out to the Impala.

He sighed as he grabbed his own bag and followed after her. Sam and Natalie were on their own hunt, "To give you two some space," on the other side of the state and Dean was praying for some kind of back up.

Inside the motel room he dumped his bag on the couch and tried to ignore the knowing that Charlotte was pissed. He didn't want to leave her alone and let her make a mistake that got her killed. She could handle herself, he knew that, he just knew that he couldn't live with himself if he'd let her go off alone to get killed.

The conversation they'd had a few weeks ago had unsettled him, made it hard for Dean's mind not to wander. He'd found himself drinking a few of those nights out on the back porch of Bobby's house, the tyre iron against his Impala looking mighty tempting. He'd almost gone through with that thought process, he'd felt the weight of the bar in his hand, felt the metal grumble cold against his flushed skin. He'd lifted it up to examine it closely and took a pretend swing as his mind swam with what could've been..._If Alastair hadn't escaped... if I'd just walked away... we could've had a boy... or a girl... if she'd stayed away..._

He shook his head as he cleared his head of thoughts. "First things first," he started, switching his mind to hunter mode as he rummaged for the suit he'd packed in his bag. He grabbed it and turned to face Charlotte, "we need to talk to the Police."

"Yep," she mumbled, already kicking her shoes off as a suit of her own was spread over her own bag. "Find out what they know, the victims, see if there's a pattern to the route the monsters going. I know."

He sighed and shook his head, "Do you mind not taking out your pissy mood on me?"

"I'm not pissed," Charlotte stated as she started to pull her shirt over her head.

"You sure about that? Cause it sure feels like you are."

Her eyes snapped up to his and he returned the glare she gave him. "You'll know when I'm pissed Dean," she stated levelly. Any other man would have shivered and recoiled from the icy tone but Dean raised his brows and gave her a look that told her he didn't believe a single word of that. "Get changed," she yanked at the white blouse and grabbed the hem of her shirt and started to tug it over her head, "we've got a monster to kill."

* * *

The monster they were hunting had a taste for human flesh, if the dumped piles of bloody bones were anything to go by. Charlotte was set on it being a Rugaru, her bah packed with lighters, torches and a few aerosols to, "light the bastard up." Dean had tried to not give her a look at the bluntness of her comment, but he couldn't help the side glance he gave her before he went over some of the facts with her.

Whoever it was seemed to be moving town every other month and it seemed to be a new victim every week. Bite marks on the bones made the police first believe animals were responsible and neither hunter made a comment on that idea. This body had been the second one so far this month which meant they had at most two weeks, but they didn't want it to get that far.

Other than that there was nothing to give them any leads.

"If you were a flesh eating freak where would you look for your next meal?" Dean voiced sarcastically as he leaned his head back against the head rest of his seat. They'd spent the entire day asking the locals if they knew anything or had seen anything and they'd gotten nothing in response. In the end they'd ordered some fast food and pulled into the parking lot to eat burgers and fries as they decided to just watch the roads for anything strange.

"The mall? Plenty of people to take."

He shook his head, "Too busy."

"A bar? Help a drunken guy stumble to a taxi?"

Dean turned his head to look at Charlotte. She seemed to be staring out of the windscreen, a burger wrapped scrunched in her hand and Dean raised his brows with a small smile, "You'd make one hell of a killer."

Charlotte didn't turn to look at him and Dean watched her brows scrunch as she shook her head and nodded out of the window. He followed her gaze with a frown and found what she was looking at. There was a guy, obviously too drunk to stand on his own, being carried out by another, stumbling this way and that.

He shook his head and shrugged, his eyes still watching the pair, "They could just be friends out... for..." His words trailed off as he watched the sober guy lead the drunken guy to an old RV. The door swung open and a woman appeared. "What the-" he mumbled, leaning forward in hopes of catching more details. Together, the two strangers pulled and pushed the drunken man inside the RV and the guy finally climbed in behind them after checking the area.

"Follow them?"

"Yeah," Dean said, starting the Impala and idling for a few seconds until the RV pulled out before he followed.

"Not too close."

"I know how to tail somebody."

"I'm just saying."

"Well don't. I got this."

Charlotte sighed and Dean bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything. Neither of them said anything for several minutes as they slowly followed the RV before it turned behind a series of old warehouses. As turned around the corner they both frowned before Dean cut the engine, his eyes darting around the area. "Where-?"

The passenger door being opened turned his attention and he started as Charlotte climbed out, dropping her wrapper in her empty seat. She made a line straight for the trunk and opened it. Dean joined her in a rush, leaving the drivers door open, his eyes going to the area, "You want to go in guns blazing?"

"You don't?" she replied, grabbing a shotgun along with an aerosol can.

"We have no idea how many there are."

"Two."

He curled a hand into a fist and let out a long breath. She wasn't thinking straight, wasn't using logic. "Okay, we have no idea _what _they are."

Charlotte gave Dean a narrowed look and hissed, "Since when did you back out of a hunt? People are dying. We can stop it. What more is there to discuss."

He could only meet her gaze for a few seconds before he looked away with a scoff and a shake of his head. This felt wrong and he just wanted to get away from there. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"I know what I'm-"

He took a step closer to her as he spoke, "And I don't doubt that!" He hesitated a moment before he gently grabbed her shoulders and shook his head. "This isn't you being a hunter, this is you wanting to take out your anger on something, anything!" He breathed heavily, his eyes locked with hers as she stared at him back. "I get it. You're angry. I'm angry as well. I'm pissed. But you're not doing this hunt looking for something to kill."

There was a moment of tense silence before Charlotte shook his hands off of her shoulders and muttered, "Stop me then."

He pinched his eyes shut as she turned, gun cocked and started to walk towards the first building. He had a very short window to do anything to stop her and his eyes quickly found a pair of handcuffs. He grabbed them, hid them from sight and moved closer to her. "Wait," he said. When he was certain he had her attention he nodded his head away from the building.

She gave him a suspicious look then cast a look to the building before she walked up to him. "What?"

He glanced at he building before he reached out to grab one of her hands. "Before we go in," he started and he played with her fingers whilst he paused, taking a slow breath. He flicked his gaze to meet hers and smiled softly, "I wanted to ask you something."

She raised one brow and inched closer to him. "Is now the time to be asking?" she whispered, her eyes fixed on where their hands connected and he watched as the shotgun slowly came to a rest by her side.

One corner of his mouth twitched into a smile and he swallowed nervously. She was going to murder him, kick his ass, but they didn't have an actual plan and her plan was going to get her killed. "Well, just in case."

There was a brief flicker of a smile on her lips before she met his gaze. He held it for a few moments before he looked away again, his free hand quietly tapping against the metal of the handcuffs. _He_ didn't have a plan, but he shook his head before he opened his mouth, only a female scream echoed through the air and both hunters lifted their head in the general direction of the noise. They waited a second before they heard again and Dean felt Charlotte's hand slip through his grasp.

"Shit," he muttered as she turned away. He reached out for the nearest gun and chased after her. It didn't take him long to catch up to her and he overtook her as he listened carefully.

He followed the fourth scream between two of the warehouses where he found a partly open door that led inside. Charlotte appeared by his side and he held an arm out, keeping her behing him before he inched towards it and, with Charlotte by his back, he peered inside. It was hard to see but he squinted enough to see that there was nobody near to the door.

"Okay," he whispered, turning back to her, "there's crates in there that lead left into the room. We go in, sneak behind them and assess the situation."

She stared back at him and shook her head, "We split up, divert their attention. The wider the targets they have to get to the better our chances no matter what they are."

"And it also makes it easier to kill us both. We stick together."

"Dean," she started, "we split up."

He didn't want to admit that her idea was better, didn't want to tell her that he wanted to make sure they both made it out of this alive. He just wanted to make sure she was fine. "Stick together," he hissed before he pushed the door open a few extra inches and slipped through, treading carefully to the nearest set of crates and around them towards the left side of the room. He stopped short, crouched behind them and flicked his gaze briefly to Charlotte who inched to the other side of the crates, stopping short just a few metres past the door. He turned, one arm out with a frown. He pointed to himself and silently said, "Here."

She shooed him away and turned her eyes back to the room as the woman screamed again.

"Keep screaming honey, nobody's going to hear you," another woman spoke.

Dean sighed, glanced at Charlotte them moved over to the left side of the room with a shake of his head. Whoever they were they definitely weren't Rugaru's. He mentally tried to create a list of what else they could be as he tried to see exactly what was going on.

"I won't tell anyone. Please," the girl cried, the panic and fear clear in the shakiness of her voice.

Dean neared the edge of a crate and looked over it with wide eyes. The drunk guy they'd taken from the bar hung limply by a chain attached to a hook, clearing two feet of space underneath him. A table had been pulled up and a woman was tied down to it. Around her were a man and a woman, the woman sliding her finger over the blade of a saw whilst the man hovered a butcher's knife over her left thigh.

"Please, no, no, no, please."

"Oh hush already," the woman cooed, stroking a hand through the girl's hair, "it'll hurt less if you don't struggle."

He glanced up towards Charlotte and froze. Her attention was locked on what was going in the centre of the room, but from where Dean was he could see the guy behind her, pistol in hand. He watched on in fear as the guy slammed the guy across the side of Charlotte's head, sending her tumbling to the floor with a groan and a curse. Dean's gaze flicked between Charlotte and the two people in the centre of the room as the guy dragged Charlotte to her feet with one arm, kicked her gun away and pulled her stumbling figure into the middle of the room.

"Somebody followed you, found her hiding back there." He shoved Charlotte to the floor with a grunt before he pointed his gun at her. "She's not alone either."

The other two stared at one another before they turned their attention to the room. It was the woman who moved over to Charlotte and yanked her head back with a handful of hair. "Hmmm," she hummed, eyes looking over her, "looks firm."

The man who'd been pinning the crying girl's leg down held out a long knife and Dean felt his heart race inside of his chest. "Come out, come out," she called to the room, "or I'll slice her throat wide open." Dean watched as Charlotte glared up at the woman, the tip of the knife pressing hard enough into her throat to release a thin red drop down her neck. "Time's up!"

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"Alright!" Dean shouted, pinching his eyes shut. He took a breath and slowly stood up, gun raised. He dropped it to one side and held his arms up. "Alright," his eyes glanced to Charlotte and he regretted following that RV.

It wasn't supposed to happen anything like this.


	28. 2009 March part 2

**A/N:** Enjoy the second part. **J. ** I'm sorry for the last chapter. Things at work wore me out and honestly, I had trouble keeping my eyes open all day not to mention that I have a very tight deadline to apply for a higher positioned job which another supervisor really wants me to have so, I've been a little stressed with that and tense in trying to get that right.

I've also had trouble writing the chapter itself, but it's here, please enjoy the chapter and I'm sorry it's late.

2009 – March

Part 2

_Delaware – Newark_

"Kick it," the guy with the knife said, nodding his head to Dean's gun. He didn't hesitate to kick it to the other side of the room, well out of his and Charlotte's reach. The woman holding Charlotte hostage kept the knife pressed firmly to her throat and Dean held his breath as his eyes focused on the point where her skin was slowly being cut open.

"Grab him," the woman ordered and before Dean could stop him the guy who'd hit Charlotte had grabbed one of his arms and jerked him painfully into the room. The other guy grabbed another chain that had been left to one side along with some rope and the woman nodded to the chain. "They look like hunters." Her eyes turned to Charlotte and Dean ground his teeth together and curled his hands into fists. "Hang him up," she purred, her other hand coming up to thread her fingers through Charlotte's hair. "This one, looks yummy."

Dean was jerked forward, the other guy coming to keep him restrained and he tested their grip on him. They only tightened their hold and elbowed him sharply in the ribs, making him hiss and grunt.

"You're an idiot," Charlotte muttered and Dean flicked his eyes to her to see her staring straight at him. She raised her brows with an irritated look before she flicked a glare towards the woman. "So are you by the way."

The woman chuckled and Dean's attention snapped to the chains that were wrapped harshly around his hands before he was manhandled towards a free hook. "You two are the ones defenceless, harmless."

Charlotte quirked one brow and Dean could only watch as she pressed her throat against the knife blade, making the small line of red bleed a little stronger. The corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk and a shiver ran down his spine in fear of that dangerous smirk, "We are far from harmless."

There was a few seconds before the woman leaned down to give her own smirk, unfazed by Charlotte's confidence. "I don't believe you."

Charlotte held her gaze for a few moments before she tutted and leaned back, "Your funeral."

"Rick?" the woman called out and Charlotte's eyes snapped to the two men that were guarding Dean. He still had his feet on the ground and the chains dangled loudly in front of him. The man who had been teasing the forgotten woman's legs with the knife trailed the edge of it down the length of Dean's throat, pressing a little against his adam's apple. She turned back to Charlotte with a grin and grabbed a handful of her hair to yank her head back, "You're going to behave or your little boyfriend is going to get it."

"Bring it," Charlotte hissed quietly.

Dean grunted and Charlotte's eyes snapped to him to see a thin trickle of red start down his throat. "Nobody likes attitude," the woman chided.

Charlotte ground her teeth together, anger beginning to rise. The woman on the table started to cry louder and the hunter's eyes flicked briefly to the table. 'Rick' stepped forward, pulling the knife away from Dean's throat and Charlotte jumped as it was thrust into the woman's chest with a final scream. "Better," he growled and the other guy grabbed a handful of Dean's hair and yanked him down, making him fall to his knees.

"Let him go," Charlotte whispered, her eyes glued on the gun that was wavering behind Dean's skull. That familiar shift of energy started to warm her body and she felt her muscles tense with the instinct of fight or flight.

The woman chuckled, grabbing Charlotte roughly by the shoulder and moving to stand behind her, fingers biting into her skin. Charlotte barely flinched, her face a stony mask as she started to eye everybody up and the best way she could go about this. "No offence _hunter_ but you're in no position to tell us what to do."

"You have no idea what you're dealing with," Charlotte breathed out calmly, her eyes boring into the brown ones of the guy with the gun. He just smirked at her, pressing the barrel of his gun into the back of Dean's neck with one raised brow.

There was laughter in the room and Charlotte flicked her gaze to Dean. That was her problem at the moment, Dean. They could easily kill him, pull the trigger before she could stand. That was the only thing that stopped her from making a move. Yet.

"Hang him up. We'll deal with him after her. I want to know what this mouthy bitch tastes like."

She fixed her eyes on Dean, watching as he stared at her with wide eyes. He put up a small struggle, earning him a fist to the gut before he was hauled to his feet and the chain lifted onto the spare hook. He grunted as it was raised until his feet didn't touch the floor and he was left to hang there.

Charlotte smirked to herself and turned her head slightly to get a glance at the woman's legs behind her. "If you want to take a bite, go right ahead. I can't stop you," she mumbled and she could feel the eyes of the other people in the room flit from one another and back to her.

There was a hand in her hair and her head was yanked back painfully, bending her back to stare up at narrowed eyes. "We'll kill him before you can get a chance to do _anything_," she hissed as she tapped the blade edge against Charlotte's throat.

"I'm sure," Charlotte muttered with her smile still in place.

The knife tapped at her throat three more times before it flicked out a line across Charlotte's cheek, making her hiss. The woman bent down and Charlotte was frozen in place as she pressed her tongue to her cheek and licked at the blood roughly, making her grunt as she tried to wriggle away. There was a purr in her ear and she felt the woman's lips against her ear whisper, "We're going to savour you, take our time because you are _something_."

Charlotte glanced at Dean and shook her head to herself. Not yet. There was too much risk. She let the woman drag her to her feet as Rick came over with another set of chains. "She good?"

The woman chuckled and kept the knife firmly pressed to her throat, "Like nothing we've had before."

Rick eyed Charlotte up like a piece of meat and she glared, trying to hide the shiver of disgust that ran through her from that look. He grabbed her arms and soon she was bound and dragged over to another hook that was next to Dean. She kept her glare in place as they strung her up until her feet barely reached the floor and she looked at Dean with a frown. "You're an idiot," she mumbled.

"Yeah well thanks," he mumbled back with a sarcastic smile, "you've told me that already."

"I would have had things under control."

"Well good job, everything looks under control right now."

"I said would've you dick."

Dean opened his mouth to retort but was stopped by the shove of a hand into his stomach that forced the air from his lungs and made him swing noisily on the chain. Charlotte grunted next to him, swinging too.

"Keep your mouths shut and we won't eat you slowly," Rick teased them with a smirk.

Charlotte and Dean gave each other another look before they kept their mouths shut. They watched on with a grimace as the trio made hungry eyes at them between cutting up the woman they'd killed just minutes ago.


	29. 2009 March part 3

**A/N:** Thank you **wolfenergy17.** You really made me smile and wish that I could hug you. Enjoy the third instalment in this hunt and I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get this written and up here.

2009 – March

Part 3

_Delaware – Newark_

They lost track of time, lost track of how long two of the three people spent eyeing Dean and Charlotte up, licking their lips as they chomped down on the dead woman's legs. Dean had only glanced over out of having nothing to do and mild curiosity. Between wincing internally, screwing his eyes shut and letting his head roll back to rest his eyes, he'd eyed the chains that dug into their hands and where his gun was laid down on the floor. They hadn't touched it since he'd kicked it away. Dean had had his pockets searched for his car keys and he'd managed to glare at the guy with the gun as he smirked and waved them at the others before leaving.

The drunk guy they'd dragged away from the bar had been gagged to stop him from screaming and crying and begging for his life. Even Dean had lost some sympathy for the guy when he'd wet his pants out of fear.

At the moment, Dean had his head resting against his arm. He wanted to sleep, wanted to just lie down and get the blood flowing back to his numb arms. He was losing feeling in his fingers and he just hoped it wasn't permanent.

He glanced over at Charlotte and frowned at the determined expression on her face. It hadn't changed since they'd strung her up with him and he wondered what she was planning, he just had no way of asking without alerting the two creeps in the room with them. He guessed by now that they were ghouls, that they had to be. He hated ghouls.

There was a familiar sound and Dean lifted his head towards the door to the warehouse as the engine of his Impala cut out. "Son of a bitch," he muttered underneath his breath. They had his car. He heard a small chuckle to his right and turned his head to see Charlotte smirking slightly, the first change in her expression he'd seen all night. "What's funny?"

"Just how anal you are about your car."

"What if one of these freaks had driven your car huh?" Her face dropped then and it was Dean's turn to smirk, "Exactly."

She rolled her eyes and Dean couldn't help the small smile. He needed the small pick me up at the moment, considering their situation.

The guy with the gun stormed back into the room and Dean lifted his head as he noticed the pissed off expression on his face. "They're hunters!" he yelled, gesturing the gun in their direction, his eyes locked on Dean's.

"Crap!" the other guy yelled as he stood up.

Dean noticed Charlotte straighten up and did his best to will some energy into his muscles.

The woman jumped to her feet and Dean noticed the drunken guy next to them begin to give them looks. "Grab her," she growled, grabbing the nearest blade she could find and she snarled up at Dean with a glint in her eyes, "We'll kill his girlfriend first. Let him watch as we slice her open and eat her, piece by piece."

Dean tried to pull on the chains with a growl. "You fucking touch her and I swe-"

"Shut up!" the gun man said as he slammed his gun into Dean's stomach, making him grunt and curl up the best that he could.

"Touch him again," Charlotte started lowly and Dean looked over at her to see her gaze focused on the gun man, "and I'll shut you up. Permanently."

He smirked at her before he eyed Dean. Within the next instant the butt of the gun was thrust harshly into Dean's face, breaking his nose and making blood begin to pour down his face. "You're fucking dead," she threatened quietly.

Dean blinked his eyes to watch as the other guy wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her throat. The gun man stepped past Dean and lifted her arms with a hiss from Charlotte before he pulled the chains off the hook. Charlotte's feet came up the moment her arms were free, landed squarely in the gun man's chest and she shoved hard. The guy holding her stumbled back at the sudden force as the gun man lost his balance and fell. The arms around her loosened slightly and she let her weight drop in his arms suddenly, making him lurch forward and she wriggled out of his grasp, landed on her back and lifted her legs to catch the guy between his eyes.

He stumbled back and Dean watched as she gracelessly wriggled onto her side and unsteadily climbed to her feet. The gun man was on his feet again and advanced on her. She jumped back as he took a swing, the chains jingling with each step she took. He backed her up and she wriggled her wrists a little. Dean frowned as he watched the chains around her wrists slowly bend, twist and move before she had enough room to slide one of her wrists out then the other. "Fuck me," he whispered in awe.

The chains fell to the ground as the gun man took another swing, giving Charlotte enough time to raise her own hands, grab his arm and pull him towards her. She raised her knee, struck him in his stomach, wrapped a hand around his throat and lifted his head up as she walked him backwards. "I told you I'd fucking kill you," she whispered as she squeezed her hand. His hands scrabbled at her wrist and he tried to lift a foot to kick at her but she held his leg up, her fingers biting into his leg making him wince and gasp.

An arm was wrapped tightly around her throat and dragged her back, making her let go and watch the gun man gasp and cough. She scratched at the arm to no avail and stamped a foot down on the guys foot. He grunted but tightened his grip and Charlotte's gaze snapped to the woman that came into view, Dean's shotgun in her hand.

Dean's eyes widened in horror and he tried to pull on the chains with small curses. "Come on," he mumbled to himself, "fucking break, _break_."

He snapped his eyes back to the action to watch Charlotte twist, yanking the guy around so that he faced the gun just as it went off. The guy howled, his back arching and Dean winced as Charlotte threw her head back, jabbed an elbow into his gut and stepped back, shoving him back until he let go of her neck. She twisted, grabbed his arm and Dean winced as the guy yelled out as Charlotte bent his arm in a wrong direction to make it snap audibly.

There was another gun shot and the guy fell to his knees. Charlotte flicked her eyes up to the woman and let go of the guy. She tried the shotgun again only to hear the chamber click empty and Charlotte smirked as she scooped up the knife the guy had dropped and stalked towards her. The woman swung the gun and Charlotte caught it, wrenched it from her grasp and chucked it to one side.

Dean watched on, partly in awe and part in fear as Charlotte reached out for the woman's shoulder, swung her around slammed her down onto the table they'd been using as a dining table. The knife sunk between her ribs and Dean hissed as she twisted the knife, causing at least two ribs to crack before she pulled the knife back out. The woman's hands scrabbled to stop Charlotte from stabbing her again and for another knife to defend herself with.

She found something, picked it up and swung, catching Charlotte's shoulder. She winced, jerked slightly and the woman brought her knee up to Charlotte's stomach. She was pushed back and the woman hobbled to her feet. Charlotte glared at her, stepped forward, easily pushed the weapon to one side and drove the knife straight into her heart and twisted again.

"Drop it!" Dean froze. There was a gun pressed firmly against his neck, a kill shot, and he stared at Charlotte as she stood, holding the woman up with the knife still lodged in her chest. The guy cocked the gun and Dean closed his eyes for a moment, "Or I'll blow his head clean off."

Dean watched Charlotte's eyes flick from him to the gun, to the guy behind him and back before she let go of the woman in front of her and stepped back, her hands up. "Don't," she muttered, her eyes focused clearly on the guy behind Dean.

The guy chuckled and Dean felt the gun shift and his eyes widened as he watched the barrel move in Charlotte's direction. He thought fast, shifted his weight and managed to rock his body into the guy's arm to make the guy go off to the side, only grazing Charlotte's arm. "You-" the guy started and Dean felt a hand yank at his hair hard as the gun started to come back to him.

Charlotte appeared in the next few seconds, a hand around the barrel as she pulled away from Dean. It went off, the bullet striking the ceiling and Dean swung as he was let go. Charlotte punched the guy in the face, grabbed the gun with both hands, pulled hard and free from his grasp before she shoved the barrel hard against his face. She followed after him, swinging it across the other side of his face before she drove it hard into his nose, making him stumble and fall back. She turned the gun around, cocked it and turned it down towards him before she shot him, at point blank range, in the centre of his chest.

Dean let out a breath and took deep breaths as Charlotte tossed the gun to one side, dug around in the guy's pocket and pulled a set of keys free. She turned around and made her way to Dean and in a manner of seconds she helped pull him down off the hook and yank the chains away. He looked over her with careful eyes and silently helped her get the other guy down and unchain him. He backed away from them and ran straight out of the building.

Dean finally turned his full attention to Charlotte but she only thrust his car keys into his chest before she turned and left. When he made it to his car she was curled up across the back seats, her eyes closed and her jacket wrapped around her injured shoulder.

He sighed, chucked his gun into the boot, slammed the drivers door shut behind him and drove silently back to the motel. Every glance he stole in the rear view mirror let him know that Charlotte wasn't asleep but in fact wide awake. He twisted his hands on the steering wheel, anger brewing at the very idea that she was avoiding any and all conversation.

When they made it back to the motel room he turned the engine off and wasn't surprised to see her 'wake up' and climb out of the car. She unlocked the door to their room and Dean gritted his teeth and shook his head. He slammed the door to the Impala and followed after her. Once he was in the room he slammed the door and started, "The silent treatment? Really? I thought we'd matured past all of that?"

"What do you want me to say?"

He turned with a glare and jabbed a finger in her direction, "How about what the hell that was?"

"I'm half angel Dean, or do you keep forgetting that?"

"Oh, well if that half of you turns you into some sort of freaky killing machine then yeah! I want to forget that! I have never seen you look so- so-"

"'So-' what Dean? You going to finish that?"

He bit his lip with a glare and held his hands up as he took a step closer to her. "Heartless! Alright! Heartless. Half angel or not you're still partly _human_ or are _you _forgetting that?"

"Don't," Charlotte started, taking a step closer to him as she spoke, "don't tell me that I'm not human. Don't you dare."

"Well what I saw today-"

She took another step, "Was me saving our lives! Or would you rather be dead?"

"Well I'd expect you to have a little _humanity_ as you butchered and-" Charlotte fisted her hands in his jacket and walked him back to the door, slamming him against the hard wood hard. He felt the air rush from his lungs as his lips parted, his hands covering Charlotte's as he was forced up onto his toes. He stared down at the look of pain in her eyes and the slight quiver of her bottom lip as she breathed deeply.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and her hands moved to grab his face and pull him down for a deep and needy kiss. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled between kisses as she kissed him hard and fast. Dean was quick to fall into step with her as he threaded a hand through her hair and cupped the back of her neck, keeping her pulled close. "I was-" _kiss_\- "thinking about-" he grunted as she pressed against him, her hands sinking to his waist and underneath his shirt, "you- about-god-"

Dean let his head fall back against the door as she kissed along his jaw and nipped a little on the harsh side at his neck, "Jesus Char-" he muttered, his eyes closed.

She nibbled at his skin, making him shiver as she shoved his shirt up his chest. "I was thinking about you-" she mumbled breathlessly against his neck, "about keeping you safe, about-" she pulled away to shove his jacket off his shoulder and tug his shirt over his head. Her eyes drunk him in and Dean grabbed her by the belt loops on her jeans and grabbed her ass to pull her against him. "God-" she whispered as he kissed her hard, "_Dean."_

He picked her up and she happily wrapped her legs around his waist as she carried on kissing him. He led them over to the bed, kneeled down on it and eased her onto it. "I get it," he whispered, "I get it," he mumbled.

It was needy and desperate, fingers and hands grabbing at one another as they clung to each other's bodies like tomorrow was about to end. He kept his fingers laced with hers, let her cling tightly to him with utterances of, "I'm sorry," and whispered promises of, "I wanted to keep you safe, alive."

Once they were done they were curled up with Charlotte's back pressed against Dean's chest. Their hands were still entwined and Dean brushed his nose along the thin line of sweat along the back of Charlotte's neck before he kissed the warm skin there with a soft exhale of breath. "Don't do that to me again," he murmured.

"What?" she whispered, voice low and rough and he could hear the smirk in her tone, "Kick ass?"

He chuckled and squeezed his arm around her waist as he hooked one leg over hers, "Almost get yourself killed."

"Hypocrite," she muttered.

Dean grinned and kissed her neck before he drifted off, spent from all of the events of the day.


	30. 2009 April

**A/N: **I want to apologise for my lack of updating. Things have changed in my personal life suddenly and it's taken some time to adjust to it and cope with the new stress. Updates might be a little sporadic but I'm going to try my best for you guys. Again, I'm sorry. Please enjoy.

2009 – April

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Music blared from the radio in Natalie's car as Charlotte hunched herself over the open engine of the vehicle, grease and oil covering her hands and arms. Sam and Dean were dealing with a hunt of their own whilst the two of them took a few days to keep each other for company.

Charlotte wanted to talk to Natalie, wanted to bring up what had happened when they'd gone to rescue Dean from torturing Alastair. Sam. She just didn't know how to. Dragging the other woman outside whilst she pottered about between both of their cars was an excuse to let her mind work up the right words to start with. She frowned at the cables, her hands working on automatic. She was a coward, she could admit that, when it came to things like this. Personally she shoved it all down and tried to sweep it all under the carpet and pretend that it never happened.

Which never worked out for her, but she always did hope.

Right now, it was a case of trying to push all of the things going on inside of her mind to one side to focus simply on Sam and Natalie. She checked the fuel line and glanced over at Natalie. The woman in question was sat on the trunk of Charlotte's car, her hands resting on the cool metal and her head down, brows knitted and lips pursed. She was thinking about something.

Charlotte sighed to herself, chewed on her bottom lip as she studied Natalie's body language and decided to screw it. "Alright, what's bugging you?"

Natalie lifted her head then, a slight smile lifting the corners of her lips. "You're never one for delicacy are you?"

Charlotte shrugged, "I've lived a tough life. Now," she grabbed the pathetic excuse for a rag she kept to wipe her hands on, barely removing some of the grime as she moved to rest her hip against Natalie's car, "I can talk all I want, all day if I have to. Feel free to shut me up with whatever the hell is going on with you."

Natalie gave her a look, eyes crinkling slightly before she closed them with a sigh and turned her head away. "Sam, I just, I can't- I can't look at him, not without- without- without seeing," she shook her head and looked back up at Charlotte, "black eyes. He had black eyes and I can't stop seeing that. It's stuck in the back of my mind."

Charlotte stared. And stared. And stared. _Black eyes?_ _That_ she did not know. "What?" she whispered without thinking. She tried to imagine it, tried to imagine Sam's face with black demonic eyes. She couldn't. She couldn't see Sam in that way.

"Exactly," Natalie went on, her voice exasperated, "I can't look at him. Not yet." Charlotte held Natalie's gaze until the other hunter looked away again with a small shake of her head. "I know you said it's still Sam, but after seeing that, I can't- I can't help but to-" she shrugged and sighed with a small noise.

"-To wonder," Charlotte finished for her. Her body sagged against the car, her eyes dancing over Natalie's left shoulder, not really focusing on anything. Was the demon blood doing something more to Sam than giving him his weird psychic powers? Was it... _turning _him into one? She furrowed her brows and could feel Natalie staring at her but she couldn't bring herself to look at her, not yet, she just needed a little time to... _process? Reason? Rationalise?_

"It's still Sam," Charlotte whispered eventually, her heart pounding inside her chest as she felt her throat close up at the suggestion that Sam was changing. There was doubt in her voice, doubt in her gut that she was speaking the truth. Maybe he was changing. It had been a long five months of not knowing what he was doing and with who... maybe. "It has to be Sam," she stated defiantly. She nodded her head to herself and fixed Natalie with a stern expression, "I'm sure."

She tapped her fingers against the pocket of her jeans where her phone rested. Since Alastair and the angels Charlotte had called Matthew and left him messages, all of which went unreturned, leaving her alone to stew in the mess that was her life. As far as she knew he was still with Anna, looking for his Grace. Whether or not that was alive or in one piece was another question, one she was desperate to know the answer to.

Maybe one more call couldn't hurt, he had to know something about demons right?

* * *

Anna leaned back against the cool wall, her arms folded over her chest and her eyes focused on Remiel. He was stretched out across an old couch, sleeping, blissfully unaware of what she was doing.

His now human body needing frequent rest and sleep only helped her in her goal to secure a future for her, the other angels and the rest of humanity. She closed her eyes and took a few moments to reorder her plan, to assess what needed to happen next. The spells she was casting were slowly coming into effect. There was a noticeable tell in Remiel's behaviour that let her know they were gradually working. It was going to be a long process but one that would pay off.

For now, she needed to pull him further to her side and she allowed herself a few seconds to quickly search for his Grace. She'd been looking and she already knew _where_ it was, it was just a matter of finding out if it had stayed in the same place, with the same _person_.

She smiled and made her way back into the room. Remiel hadn't moved. Anna stepped forward and gently shook his shoulder, softly calling out his name. He stirred with a grunt, his eyes squinting against the small filters of light that wriggled their way into the room. "Yeah?" he yawned.

She took a step back and said, "I know where your Grace is."

He sat up, his eyes wide and attentive. "Where?" Her smile dipped and she made a show of looking uncertain about telling him the truth. "Anna? Where is it?"

"Do you remember Azrael?"

Remiel scrunched his face up in brief confusion before relisation dawned on him and he stared up at her with concern. "Are you sure?"

She nodded her head solemnly. "Yes, I didn't want to tell you at first, in case I was wrong but some angels find humour in the worst of places."

He nodded back to her, already dropping his gaze. "I learnt that the hard way," he mumbled. There was a terse silence for several seconds as Anna waited, needing to hear those right words from his mouth.

The seconds dragged into minutes as Remiel stood, paced the room and fidgeted.

A loud ringing interrupted the silence and both sets of eyes turned to Remiel's phone. He darted over to it, his fingers hovering over the screen. Anna watched him carefully, already knowing who's voice was going to be on the other end of the line. Eventually he declined the call and fixed her with a look of certainty;

"Where is he?"

* * *

Charlotte had promised Natalie to do some research, to make a few calls to some of her contacts. When Natalie asked what kind of contacts knew anything about that kind of thing Charlotte tried to shrug it off with a small, "Shady, dark, mysterious and dangerous people. One of them's a witch I think. I never asked the details."

It seemed to work and Natalie had called it a night. Charlotte waved her off, told her to try to get some sleep, to stop worrying about Sam so much. She was going to eat her own words and she knew it, but Charlotte needed one of them to be level headed and with Matthew not answering her calls she was sure she was going to go crazy a little sooner than she wanted.

Eventually she called it a night herself and made her way to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and froze at the sudden smell of sulfur in her room. Charlotte flicked her eyes up and rolled them at the sight of Crowley making himself comfortable across her bed. "What? I'm not dead, my soul isn't yours yet."

"I'm not here for that, I'm here with some good news."

She shook her head as she sat down on the edge of the bed and started to undo the laces to her boots. "And what does the King of the Crossroads consider good news?"

She felt the bed dip behind her and felt the air behind her shift as he leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "Lilith's rattled."

Charlotte frowned and turned her head slowly to look at Crowley's face, less than four inches from her own. "What? Why?"

"Moose killed Alastair without touching him. You'll be surprised how fast news travels in hell, anyway, my point is, _now_ is the perfect time to finally follow through with what you've failed to do so far."

She scoffed and shoved a hand at his shoulder, doing almost nothing to him, "Like you've done anything other than hand me the weapon. I screwed up once and it cost me, greatly and you're going to come out of that screw up one soul up. Why should I risk anything else?"

Crowley opened his mouth to reply before he frowned and closed it again. It took a few seconds for his smile to return and he gave Charlotte a dark look, "Because I can undo our little deal. Your girlfriend-"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"-dies." He leaned in until he was two inches away from her and she held his gaze as he whispered, "_That's_ why you'll do this."

She leaned in slightly closer, her face twisted into a snarl and promised, "And _that's_ why I'm going to kill you one day."

"Deal," he said with a smirk.


	31. 2009 April part 2

**A/N: ** Hey guys, here's another chapter and I know that some of you are going to hate the cliff hangers I've left you all. Please enjoy and know that the next chapter should be longer with lots of stuff going on. (For reference for what Azrael looks like think Cillian Murphy) Enjoy!

2009 – April

Part 2

_Minnesota – Windom_

Dean paced outside of his and Sam's motel room, one hand pressing his phone to his cheek whilst his other hand moved and moved. He couldn't keep still. He walked one way, tapped his foot against a railing or post then turned in another direction, his free hand tapping his thigh, running through his hair, over his face, across the back of his neck. Something itched at him about this, about all of this. Sam was right but Dean just wished that he was wrong, this even his deepest thoughts were wrong.

This Adam kid couldn't be Dad's. Right? Since he'd heard that little bit of news he hadn't been able to stop thinking about him, about Dad. Why? Why wouldn't he tell Dean about him? Why keep him a secret? And why the hell did Adam seem to have a better childhood then them? Dean scoffed to himself, toeing at a couple of loose stones in the floor. Sam was sucking right into it like it was Christmas but Dean couldn't shoo away the feeling that was just _wrong_.

"Come on," he pleaded into his phone as it continued to ring. He wanted a second voice, somebody else to tell him that he wasn't going crazy, that he had every right to want to dump Adam here and walk away. "Come on, what the fuck are you doing?" He knew he sounded desperate, but he was. His stomach was turning with the thoughts of his Dad not being able to trust him, not being able to tell him the truth. He hated the idea that he really didn't know John Winchester as well as he thought he did.

"What's up?"

"About damn time, what the hell were you doing?"

Charlotte scoffed on the other end of the line and Dean could swear he heard her roll her eyes. "What crawled your ass and died?"

"My Dad," he hissed.

He felt the shift in the air and could picture her straightening up. "What happened?"

"Oh," Dean started with a low, disbelieving chuckle, "fathered a kid and decided not to tell anybody about it and now the kids Mother is missing."

There was a pause and Dean swallowed, breathing hard. He wished today was just some kind of joke, prayed that it was anything but the truth because adding another Winchester to the mess that was their lives was not a good thing.

"You sure he's John's?" Charlotte asked eventually and he could hear the hesitation in her voice.

Dean shook his head with a sigh, "Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of damning evidence."

"Okay, so congrats, you have a half brother."

"No! Don't congratulate me alright? He's a Winchester, he knows about hunting and monsters and now he's going to get curious and get himself killed and that's on us."

"Dean," she said, almost impatiently, "what the hell do you want me to say?"

He stopped short, brows creasing at her snapping tone. "Am I interrupting something?"

There was a sigh from her before her tone softened, "No, I'm sorry. Look, his Mom's missing and he's curious to who you two are and what kind of person John really was when he wasn't around. What did you expect?"

"Not for him to just say 'Okay' when we told him everything."

"That was it?"

"Yeah. I don't like it."

His stomach still churned with the idea of completely trusting Adam. Dean was a not a trusting person and he had no grounds on which to trust Adam except that he hadn't reacted to the silver knife or the holy water at the diner.

"So keep an eye on him and be careful. Trust your gut."

His shoulders sagged in... _relief? Disappointment? Tiredness?_ His hand was moving again, scrubbing at his face as he bit back his sigh and a scowl. "Yeah, alright. You know, we need some time away from all of this stuff right?"

There was a hum before Charlotte answered him. "Yeah. How about one day we drive to a motel room and spend two or three days there by ourselves? Phones turned off and take out menus next to the bed?"

Dean smiled and slowly started to head towards his car, his imagination already working hard. There were a few things he wanted to do to her, a few things he needed to catch up to her with. It felt like it had been so long since they did anything, maybe a couple of weeks, which was too long in his opinion. "Sounds good. Let me know when you're done with your thing."

"Will do. Stay safe, both of you."

The line clicked and Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He held it for two seconds before releasing it as he opened his eyes. He gave the motel room one last glance before he yanked the driver's door of the Impala open and climbed in, intending to follow up with the missing bodies.

* * *

Matthew stared at the summoning spell in front of him. All he had to do was chant the spell and Azrael would be summoned into the circle of holy water in front of them. His brain brought up memories of the other angel, heaven's interrogator of the evil, bad and punishable. The angel that could crack anybody with ways of torture that "helped the good guys to win in the end."

He hesitated for three reasons. One, he was a fellow angel. Murdering another angel was wrong, it made him nauseous and dizzy. It was like murdering a blood brother and Anna had given him the tools to do just that. Two, Azrael was the angel responsible for Charlotte's pain when she was four. As nice as it would be to make him realise how hurt Matthew had been at that, revenge, in his opinion, for the sake of revenge was never good. It only led to darker paths and he wasn't sure he wanted to travel down that path.

Three, it was Anna. The angel who'd killed his lover, kidnapped his daughter and threatened to murder him to, had led the charge of angels against him with the purpose of murdering him. He glanced back up to the waiting woman to find her frown worriedly at him. "What is it?"

He shook his head, "This isn't right."

"You want your Grace back don't you? You want to be an angel with the ability to protect Charlotte? You know that she needs protecting right now, the angels are looking for any reason to punish her and their punishment is death."

His lips parted as the words sunk in. He knew that, he'd always known that since the day she was conceived, but there had to be other ways than _murder_ to help her and himself right? "There has to be another way Anna."

"There isn't."

"Murdering one of our own-"

"Has been done before to save the lives of many. You know this for yourself."

Ice shot through his veins at that comment. Every angel knew that line, knew that _code_ that was meant to keep the world turning. A few for the many. The less for the more. He was one of the lucky few who became aware of how sickening that line sounded. He took a step back from the mixing bowl of ingredients and laid his hands on the table and bowed his head, his eyes closed.

Maybe he didn't _have_ to murder him.

He looked back up at Anna with a lump in his throat. It didn't feel right. "We kill him if we must right? Only if."

She nodded back at him. "Of course, only if it's to save ourselves."

He nodded and sighed, stepping back towards the table again. He closed his eyes and took a breath before he finished the spell and waited. It wasn't long before there was a gust of wind blowing through the room they were in, making the candle lights flicker and two of them to go out. In the circle stood Azrael.

His vessel had changed since Matthew had last seen him. Instead of the salt and pepper hair it was brown and several inches in length. He had high cheekbones, warm brown eyes and a look that screamed that he knew how to make you squirm. "Remiel," he said, his voice cold and unemotional. He turned his attention to Anna and the corners of his lips tugged up, "With Anna. I can't say that I'm surprised."

Anna lit a match and threw it at his feet. The circle of Holy water caught fire and Azrael's only reaction was to raise one brow.

"I want my Grace," Matthew demanded, taking a step towards the edge of the fire.

"Oh? I hadn't noticed you were missing it."

"I don't want to hurt you."

Azrael levelled a look with Matthew and took a step towards the edge where he stood. "And how are you so sure that you _can_ hurt me? You're powerless. Human. Fragile." His voice lowered to a deadly whisper, "The _only_ thing standing between you and death, is this ring of holy water."

Matthew narrowed his eyes, his heart racing in his chest. Azrael was right, he was a dead man, but there was no way he was going to hint to the other angel that he was scared of how true those words were. "We'll see," he muttered darkly, "my Grace?"

Azrael's lips formed a long, thin smile as he tilted his head ever so slightly to one side. He reached a hand up to his neck and plucked a shining blue vial from around his neck to show him. "If you want it that badly, come and take it yourself."

Matthew hesitated, knowing that this was exactly what Azrael wanted, that the moment he crossed that line of holy fire that he was as good as dead. He didn't even have to cross it, just get within arms length so that he could be dragged across the line. He tightened his grip on the angel blade by his side, steeling himself for the fight that was about to come.

"Remiel," Anna whispered and he could hear the uncertainty in her voice. He shook his head, he needed his Grace, it was a part of him, a part of who he was. Without it, he felt hollow, empty, as though he'd lost his entire purpose for existing. What use is an angel that can't fly?

He steeled himself and took a step back to grab the bottle of water they'd used for the spell. He splashed it onto the floor in front of him, cutting out some of the fire and set the bottle back down, his eyes focused on Azrael. Azrael tilted his head back slightly, his smile curling into a sinister smirk and Matthew was still contemplating how bad of an idea this was before he took a step towards the angel.

* * *

Charlotte twisted her hands on the steering wheel, her stomach twisting and knotting. Crowley had her on a leash. She does what he says or Natalie dies. _Great_. "I'm going to kill him," she whispered on repeat to herself as she stared at the bar in front of her. It was the one thought that helped her to get out of the car and start towards the door and maybe her death.

Crowley had mentioned something about one of Lilith's spies who was spreading rumours and causing a subtly hint of distrust between himself and Lilith. If she got rid of the spy then Lilith would, "Be more rattled and easier to kill, for _you_."

"Gee thanks, be more subtle about it."

Crowley had given her a look at her eye roll and narrowed his eyes a fraction. "You're lucky I don't take your soul now. That's the contract you agreed to: _anything_."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up."

He held out a silver blade to her and she stared at the four pointed weapon that tapered off at the end. "Where did you get this?" she asked, her brows knitting. This wasn't demon weaponry, she was almost certain it was something the angels used.

"Details," Crowley had said as he placed it in her hand, "now go do Daddy proud."

She pulled a face and had driven to the address he'd given her.

The moment she stepped into the room, blade tucked in the waistband of her jeans and underneath her jacket, she knew it was a mistake, that it had to be a trap of some kind. Every person in the room stopped to stare at her, each pair of eyes flicking black with a hiss or growl.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she whispered, a hand scrabbling to the blade as the nearest set of demons started to close the distance.

She was a dead woman, and Crowley had killed her.


	32. 2009 April part 3

**A/N:** Hey guys, hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

2009 – April

Part 3

_Demon bar_

Charlotte stepped back, her eyes flicking from one demon to the next and the one after. She managed to yank the blade free and hold it in front of her as she reached back with her other hand for the door. A chuckle started somewhere in the room and there were a few whistles and whispers of "We got ourselves a little fun here." It made her shiver with fear and she pulled on the handle, her eyes fixed on the large room.

There was maybe five feet between her and the nearest demon to her left, the ones directly in front of her were six feet away. "Come on," she cursed, yanking on the door.

"Oh you're not going anywhere sweetheart," one of the woman coddled from Charlotte's right. "And that little pig poker isn't going to help you one little bit."

Charlotte tightened her hold on the blade and straightened her shoulders up, ready to fight. "So what are you waiting for?"

The one on her left lunged and Charlotte swung, catching him on the cheek. She sent him stumbling into the wall, a hand to his face, and she thanked her angel powers. Then there was a rush of bodies towards her and she turned, her body facing the open room, and swung.

* * *

Matthew stumbled back and fell flat on his back, his face throbbing. He'd forgotten how hard an angel's punch could be and he scrambled with watery eyes to get back on his feet. He stepped back, his gaze focused on Azrael who stepped out of the broken circle and, with the wave of his hand, put the fire out. "I'm sorry," Azrael mocked, placing a hand over his chest, "do you want to take a break? That was just a taste of what is in store if you carry on with this path."

He swiped a hand over his mouth, wiping away the blood at the corner of his lips. Mathew's eyes flicked to the necklace that hung around Azrael's neck like a beacon. He could _feel _it calling to him, reaching out to him. It wanted him, needed him like he needed it. A part of him.

"No," Matthew said as he rushed forward.

Azrael caught his arm, twisted it up and forced Matthew onto his knees. He looked down at him with one arched brow and tutted. "You'll be another parent Charlotte won't be able to say goodbye to."

"Think again," Anna said.

Matthew yanked his arm free and crawled back. He watched as Anna swung her own angel blade. Azrael dodged it just in time, stepping left and swinging right. Anna took the punch to her jaw and came back up to strike at him again. Matthew climbed to his feet and stepped back, waiting to find his opening as Anna and Azrael traded punches.

* * *

Charlotte grunted and groaned, the world spinning around her as she was thrown over a table and into another group of demons. They dragged her to her feet, the blade forgotten by her feet as they held her arms tightly to their chests. She lifted her head and she managed to focus glassy eyes on a fair haired woman before she through a painful right hook to Charlotte's temple.

There was another punch to the same side of her face and she lost focus on the world long enough to wonder how she ended up against the pool table, her legs barely holding her up. She groped for anything, found a pool cue and grabbed it and swung. It splintered across a guy's bald head and he growled without a falter in his step.

She needed the blade Crowley had given her and she ducked underneath a punch and decided to hell it with as she barrelled into the nearest demon. Charlotte sent her stumbling back and they fell over a chair, shattering it in the process before Charlotte was grabbed by the back of her shirt, hauled to her feet and felt somebody wrap an arm around her neck as somebody else drove a knee into her stomach hard.

* * *

Dean's stomach turned as he drove Sam back to their motel room, towels still wrapped firmly around his wrists. Anything they had that was good for stitching was back at the motel room. Dean couldn't even bring himself to turn the radio on, his mind thinking over how sorry he felt for Adam, how wrong he had been about the guy.

He had been normal, except for the whole being dead and a ghoul the whole time, but he had had a normal life. The more Dean thought about it the more he wrung his hands on the steering wheel with a dark glare at the road. The Winchester curse. It had gotten to one of the most innocent people Dean had even briefly, kind of known. Adam hadn't deserved what he'd gotten just because he was a Winchester. Nobody deserved that.

And those thoughts led Dean to dwell on his own future. It was bleak, it had been since he started training for this job when he was four years old. He was going down fighting or not at all and it made him feel hollow, empty. Killing and hunting everything seemed great until he realised that more people were going to die, that one day he wouldn't be able to save himself and that that would be it, the monsters would win.

Sure, there were other hunters, but Dean personally felt responsible. If he could help somebody then it was his job, his duty to. People deserved to be saved, especially if those people weren't him.

He sighed and shook his head. He glanced over at Sam and noticed that his eyes were closed. Dean smiled briefly and turned the radio on quietly to chase away his thoughts. As much as he wanted to wish that none of that was true, they were the dark thoughts that taunted him at night and it was hunts like these that really made him crash into reality.

He was going to die hunting. Be it a monster, a gun, a knife, Dean Winchester was going to die bloody and messy. He grabbed his phone with one hand and dialled without looking. _"I'm busy, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you..." _He frowned and dialled Charlotte's number again... _"I'm busy, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you..."_

"Charlotte?" Dean started, his voice a whisper so as to not wake Sam. He sighed and slowed the car down to pull over. He climbed out and walked a couple of steps as he spoke quietly, "Just, call me back. It was-" he took a shaky breath and ran a hand over his face, "my gut was right okay? Adam wasn't Adam, it was a ghoul. The real Adam, he- he was dead, _before_ we got that call." He shook his head, "Just call me back okay. I cou- I- I need to hear your voice right now. _Please_."

He hung up and fisted his hand around his phone. He closed his eyes with a sigh and pressed his fist to his forehead, willing himself to compartmentalise everything, to lock it all away. But all that his brain would tell him was this: _Adam deserved a life. Adam deserved a life. Adam deserved a life. _

* * *

One demon... two... three... four... Charlotte counted the bodies as they fell, using those small numbers to help keep her eyes open and her mind focused.

Five... six... seven... She was starting to get into a rhythm and started to get her feet underneath herself a little better. The Nephilim part of her felt natural and she used that power to her full advantage. Her body ached and begged to rest and the demons were still getting in their punches, but her basic instinct of "Survive" was driving her onwards and pumping her full of adrenaline.

Somebody drove an elbow across her cheek and sent her down to one knee. Somebody kicked her square in her back and she fell forward into somebody's knee, her nose breaking and the feel of warm blood rushed over her mouth and chin. The world twisted away as she fell onto her side with a groan, her eyes screwed shut as she tried to will the pain away.

In one of her pockets she could feel her phone buzzing and prayed that nobody could hear the faint buzz.

There was a set of hands underneath her shoulders, pulling her back up and she felt her legs struggle to hold her up, her energy fading fast. Somebody grabbed her chin and it took her a moment to focus hazy eyes on a handsome guy with abyssal eyes. "How did you find us?"

"S'rew you," she slurred, closing her eyes with a sigh. There wasn't a part of Charlotte's body that didn't ache.

"I asked you a question," he repeated, "who are you working for?"

"Your mother," she mumbled before she spat a ball of blood in his face.

He wiped the blood and spit off his face with the back of his hand before he wiped it on her shirt. "You'll pay, painfully and slowly," he whispered.

* * *

Matthew jumped on Azrael's back.

It wasn't his smartest idea, but he was getting desperate. He reached blindly for the necklace and felt a hand grab his arm and pull him over Azrael's shoulder. His fingers tightened against the thread and he clung tightly as he was thrown across the room and over the table he'd used for the summoning spell.

Ingredients spilt across the floor and he ignored it all as he lifted up the vial of blue light to his bloodied and bruised face. He glanced up to see Azrael staring at him, shocked before he started towards him. Matthew hurried to his feet, stepping back so that he could pull his arm back and smash the vial into the ground, releasing a cloud of bright, blue and white light.

As everything seemed to become just _right_ he heard one word in the back of his mind, one word that caught his attention above all else: _Dad_.

* * *

Sam frowned at his brother. Since they'd gotten back to the motel room and stitched his arm up Dean had been fidgety and unable to sit still. His hand flitted to his phone, opened it up and set it back down before he looked at it again thirty seconds later. Sam was sure that Dean was dialling the same number every other minute and he was growing worried by his brother's strange behaviour.

"What's wrong?"

"Charlotte's not answering her phone," Dean said as he dialled her number again.

"For how long?"

"Forty minutes now."

Sam's frown deepened. Charlotte never let her phone go unanswered that long and he winced as he grabbed his phone and slowly started to dial her number too. _"I'm busy, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you..." _

He tried it two more times before he shook his head and dialled Natalie's number instead. "Sam?" she started, her voice wavering on this side of uncertain. He knew that there was still some tension between them and he had no way of explaining it to her again that he had done what he had done to help Dean, to help save people and that he hadn't hurt anybody.

"Hey Nat, have you heard from Charlotte recently?"

"No we haven't spoken in a couple of days, why?" Worry crept into her voice, "Has something happened?"

Sam shook his head and glanced over at Dean. His older brother was staring at him intently and Sam was almost afraid he'd feel that look forever. "We don't know. Can you try giving her a call, see if you can get through?"

"Yeah, of course, hey erm, are- are you okay? Y- You sound..._ off_."

A small smile flickered onto Sam's face and he shook his head, "I'm fine, thanks, call me back okay."

"Yeah sure."

He hung up. As they waited for the call back he grabbed some more painkillers and knocked them back with a couple shots of whiskey. He winced as the alcohol burned down his throat and he sighed before he looked over at Dean. "She'll be fine, she always is."

There was a look of doubt that crossed Dean's face so quickly Sam wasn't sure he'd seen it in the first place. "No she isn't," he whispered before he stood up and grabbed his phone again. "I need some air."

Sam watched his brother leave and sighed before he let himself lie back down on his bed, his eyes closed. His arms still throbbed and his body ached. Something was wrong and they both knew it, Sam knew it from the fact that Dean was this worried about her. One thing he knew was that Dean never worried without reason to, and it had been almost an hour now and he prayed that she really was alright. He had no idea if she was on a hunt or where she was last headed and he had a hunch Dean didn't know either, making the situation worse.

Ten minutes passed before his phone rang and he jerked up, grabbing it with a quick, "Hey, you get through?"

"No. Where the hell did she go? I going to find her and kill her."

"I don't know."

"What?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. She never said where she was headed."

There was a pause on the line before Natalie asked, "So what do we do?"

* * *

Crowley waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Every so often he cocked his head and listened carefully before he checked the time on his watch. The longer it went on the more surprised his looks turned as he counted the minutes. "Come on, she's one person," he muttered to himself, snapping his eyes to the bar. From his position of leaning back against the hood of Charlotte's car, he had a good view of the front door. He was waiting for somebody to walk out and tell him that it was done.

He would be the last person to admit that he could've handled everything a little better and that maybe he over estimated human emotions, but here he was, trying to clean it up.

His waiting hit the forty five minute mark and he listened carefully, eyes narrowed at the door. There was nothing and he pushed himself away from the car, taking slow steps towards the door. He pushed it open with ease, stepped inside and stopped. This wasn't what he'd been expecting.

Crowley stepped around bloody body after bloody body, different and similar wounds marring each one, marking certain death. He scoured them all, looking for one and he had to walk to the other side of the room to find her, Charlotte, slumped against the wall with her head bowed, the blade laying in her open hand. Blood covered her from head to toe and when he tilted his head to look at her face he saw even more blood.

He stepped closer and tried to discern if she was still alive. He glanced back to the room, eyebrows raised. He was surprised. Not a single demon had made it out, but, neither had she and he grinned. Crowley could blame this group of demons for wanting to overthrow Lilith and that Charlotte's deal with them had gone bad, hence the bloodbath, meaning that any whiff of dishonesty about him was gone, leaving him open to kill the bitch himself and take the throne.

It was the same plan, just a little different, and he liked this one even better. He got Charlotte's soul a little quicker and he bagged himself a one way ticket to the throne.

"Leave."

He froze, knowing the chill in the air. "You're too late."

"I said leave."

Crowley turned and came face to face with an angry and dishevelled Matthew. "You got your angel mojo back I see." At Matthew's look he shrugged with a sly smile, "Rumours spread fast in hell. But you're too late. Her souls gone."

Matthew fisted his hands in the front of Crowley's shirt and lifted him up off his feet, "Last chance, _leave_."

Crowley wasted no time in disappearing and Matthew was left alone in the bar. He glanced around the bar and sighed before he knelt down in front of Charlotte's body. He cupped her bloodied chin and lifted it up to see her bruised, cut and bloodied face. She'd put up one hell of a fight and he smiled, a little proud of her.

"I've got you," he whispered, willing his powers to heal her. Once he was sure he could feel her breathing against his hand he shifted to pick up her and kissed her forehead. "I've got you," he whispered again before he disappeared out of that bar and to the next person he _could _trust to look after her.

"Dean," he said.

The hunter spun on his heels, his hand snapping from his ear to his side and his eyes wide. Slowly he glanced down to Matthew's arms and he dropped his phone as he started towards him, "Charlotte? What the hell happened?"

"Demons."

Matthew passed her over and looked towards the motel rooms before he got a lock on Sam and opened their motel room. "She should be fine, just in need of great rest."

"Matthew?" Sam said and he climbed to his feet with a frown before he stared at Dean coming through the door with Charlotte in his arms, her clothes covered in blood. "What happened?"

"Demons," the angel repeated, glancing at Sam before he frowned and squinted at his arms. He stepped forward and grabbed Sam's arms. After a moment he nodded and let them drop. Sam stared for a moment before he pushed the bandages away from his wrists to see nothing but clear, clean skin.

"Thanks."

"Look after yourselves," he said before he left, intending to get back to Anna and deal with the aftermath of Azrael.

Dean brushed strands of hair our of Charlotte's face and perched himself on the edge of the bed. He grabbed one of her hands and held tightly to it, his fingers laced between hers. "You idiot," he whispered, "you fucking idiot. The hell were you doing?" He sighed and shook his head before he brought her hand up to his lips. "I swear to God if you ever do that again I'll kill you. And that's a promise," he mumbled.

Sam smiled to himself and gestured to the door, "I'll go book another room, give you two some space."

"Thanks Sammy," Dean said, watching his brother leave with an appreciative smile.

Once Sam was gone he turned to look back down at Charlotte to find her staring up at him, her brows creased. He couldn't help the slip of tears and he let his head fall to her shoulder as he cupped her face. "Don't," he whispered quietly, "don't ever do that, please Char, I can't-" he shook his head and moved to kiss her chin, cheek, nose, forehead and eventually her lips, "I can't lose you."

Her hands reached up and she threaded her fingers through his hair. After a few silent moments he opened his eyes to see her eyes filled with tears that streaked her face, "I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly, "I'm so sorry Dean, I didn't- I'm not- I-" she pulled him down for a desperate kiss and Dean greeted her halfway, his eyes watering again. "I thought-" she mumbled between needy kisses, "I- us- you- _Dean_."

"I know," he whispered back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, "I know."


	33. 2009 May

**A/N:** A shorter chapter than normal, but I'll hopefully make the next one longer for you guys. Have a Charlotte centric chapter with hints of Natalie. Enjoy.

2009 - May

_Screaming. _

_The smell of burning flesh and ash._

_The taste of stale copper._

_A faint murmuring of voices in the distance._

_Malicious laughter. Insane mutterings, cackling, whispers._

_Something was wrong. Her skin prickled with the dread of what was to come, goosebumps along the back of her neck making her shiver. The room or place that she was in, she couldn't tell where she was, was too dark to see. There was a chill in the air offset by the putrid heat that blasted her skin and warmed her up too much. She could feel a set of eyes watching her and could feel the invisible weight of something heavy around her wrists and neck..._

"_Hello darling." _

Charlotte sat up and gasped for air. Fear and dread clung to every inch of her being and made her feel sick to her stomach. She shivered, the sweat that covered her body making her colder and she tried to swallow through the dryness in her throat.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness the beating of her heart slowed down a little. She was _safe. _She drew her knees up, wrapped one arm around them and sighed, resting her head against them. Safe. She was safe. That was the one thought that kept spinning through her mind. And Crowley's voice, the creepy nature of it made her pale at what those two simple words implied. She hadn't seen him, but she had felt him there, felt his eyes watching her, studying her and it felt as though he was still watching her.

She shivered again, threw the covers back and scrubbed a hand over her face. She reached for her pants on the floor and tugged them over her legs before she trudged to the bathroom, her arms wrapped around herself. She closed the door behind herself and flicked the light on, her eyes finding the mirror straight away. Charlotte started with a small gasp before she blinked and the image of her with sunken eyes, pale skin and a smirk, which she most definitely hadn't been wearing, was gone.

"The hell?" she whispered, her heart speeding up again. She blinked a few more times before she was satisfied that the reflection was her and not a different her. Charlotte shook her head and turned the tap on to wash her face. _It was just a dream. It was just a dream, a weird, freaky, strange, realistic dream. But it was a dream. _She turned the water off, grabbed a towel and dried her face, trying to ignore the slight shake in her hands.

She couldn't help eyeing the mirror again, just in case it wasn't her eyes playing tricks on her. The knock on the bathroom door made her jump and stare at it, the blood rushing in her ears.

"Is everything alright?" Natalie's voice drifted through.

"Yeah," Charlotte called back, "sorry." She gave her reflection one last look before she opened the bathroom door to see Natalie frowning at her. "I wake you up?"

Natalie shrugged her shoulder, her arms folded over her chest as she slowly walked back to her bed. "You were mumbling in your sleep, something about giving you a second chance."

Charlotte frowned, her body slouching to rest against the door frame. "What?" she muttered.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Charlotte pulled a face and shook her head with a shrug. "I don't- I don't know. I don't remember what my dream was."

Natalie raised one brow, her face a mask of disbelief. A yawn ruined it and she shook her head with a wave of her hands. "If you don't want to talk about it, fine, I'm going back to bed."

Charlotte leaned back to flick the bathroom light off, leaving the shared motel room covered in shadows. She didn't feel like sleeping and she moved to her bag and rummaged through it until she found her jacket and zipped it up. She grabbed her keys and phone and made a start to leave, "I'll be back with breakfast and tea."

"Mmm," Natalie hummed from the bed and Charlotte smiled as she let her get back to sleep. She closed the door gently and pulled the collar of her jacket up against her neck.

It was 3am, too early to be awake and she tapped her finger against her phone as she climbed into her car. She still didn't quite know what had happened back at the bar. She'd been surrounded by demons and fighting for her life with nothing but a blade to save her. Crowley had sent her into the trap and she was certain she had died. Matthew had rescued her and brought her to Dean and Sam, an Angel again. She opened her phone and scrolled down to his name. He hadn't answered any of her calls since she'd woken up, he hadn't even replied to any of her texts and she wanted to know why and exactly what had happened.

Crowley's deal came back to her mind: _the moment you die, you stay dead and your soul is mine_. Was her dream a part of that? How? She felt normal, she felt like herself. But if she was her, then why did she have a dream with his voice? Why did it seem creepy? She shook her head and started the engine of her car and started to drive to the nearest open shop.

She turned the radio to keep her mind busy and drove for thirty minutes before she found a fast food place. She pulled up to the drive thru, ordered a couple of burgers and fries along with a coffee and pulled into the parking lot to pick at her food, the radio a constant buzz in the background. She ate slowly, focusing on nothing as she struggled to swallow each bite. The sickening feeling she'd had when she'd woken up had stuck with her and she wanted to fight through it.

As she worked through her food she called Matthew four more times, only to reach voice mail each time with a sigh before she ditched her phone in the passenger seat. It had gone 4:15 when she felt her eyes start to close again. She didn't want to go back to sleep, but her body ached for it and she couldn't help slouching down in her seat and closing her eyes, just to rest them, _just for a minute_.

…

_Cold stained the air and pressed against her skin. A flare of heat passed over her left cheek as something clinked around her wrist. Something sharp pressed into the back of her right shoulder and dragged downwards, drawing a hissed grunt from her lips. _

"_Welcome back."_

"_What?" Her heart raced, her hands curling into fists around... chair arms?_ _Was she tied down? _

_She felt the cold press of the sharp blade against side and suddenly she jerked forward with a yell as it dug into her and twisted. _

Charlotte sat up with a groan, a hand on her side as she winced and hissed, twisting to get a hand underneath her shirt. Nothing. There was no blood, no wound, nothing. It was all in her mind, but it had felt real. She could feel the twist of muscles and the tear of flesh. She had felt the warmth of her blood sliding down her side from the wound and she could've sworn that it was real.

Except she didn't have a mark on her.

"What the fuck?" she cursed to herself as she slowly sat up, shifting and wincing, her side itching with pain. She groaned and rubbed at her side as she pulled out of the parking lot, turned the radio up and couldn't stop fidgeting. Her side ached with pins and needles and something inside of her was screaming that something was wrong, seriously wrong, but she couldn't pinpoint why it was so wrong.

She drove around, willing the pain and itch to go away, and tried to stop her heart from pounding painfully in her chest. She rolled her shoulder with a hiss, pain warming it uncomfortably. Her mind couldn't stop running on possible theories as to what the hell was going on, but she was coming up empty. All that she could surmise was that it was some weird dream voodoo where it still felt real when she woke up. That was a thing right? A scientific thing? With studies? It had to be.

She drove around on that thought, telling herself that she had no other ideas, no other theories, and eventually she pulled up to another place and parked. She went inside to buy Natalie some breakfast and her tea, a coffee for herself, and made her way back to their motel room.

When she made it back Natalie was awake and dressed, her laptop open in front of her as she typed away. "One chai tea latte with surprise breakfast muffins and warm bagels filled with cheese and bacon topped with salad."

"Thank you," Natalie chimed, glancing up to grab the cup of tea and takig a sip before she set it down on the table. "Feeling better?"

Charlotte shrugged out of her jacket as an answer and tossed it onto her bed. "Same as ever, what you looking at?"

"I'm not," Natalie said as she started to open the bag Charlotte had brought back for her, "talking with some old hunting buddies and friends."

"Anything interesting?"

"Not really." Natalie started to eat and Charlotte took the opportunity to kick off her shoes and grab the book she'd left by the bed the night before. She opened it up to where she was and started to read the paragraph she was on.

Three pages later and her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket without looking and opened it up, her eyes still reading the words in front of her, "Yeah?"

"H-hey," Dean's voice started shakily, "y- you should get to Bobby's. Soon- now- I-"

Charlotte frowned and let her book fall into her lap. "What's happened? Who's hurt?"

He sighed and she heard him take a few deep breaths before he answered slowly, "It's Sam, okay, I don't, I've got no other choice, we had to, I mean, you should've seen him he- god I still can't believe it- and I saw it!"

"Dean, you're rambling, slow down and tell me what's happened, what did Sam do?" Out of the corner of her eyes she watched Natalie turn to stare at her, breakfast and tea abandoned.

"Cas he erm, he left his vessel, we went to find him, demons got to his vessel and we fought. Sam he erm, he drank straight from one of their necks, saved Jimmy's wife-"

"Who's Jimmy?"

"The guy Cas is riding around in."

"There's a person in there?"

"Yeah I know."

There was silence for a few seconds before Charlotte cleared her throat, "He save Jimmy's wife...?"

Dean sighed again and she could hear the shakiness in his voice return, "Without touching her, without saying anything, he just, held his hand up and made the demon leave her. But it was how it looked, him sucking on that demons neck like- like some kind of vampire, I just-"

"Dean, breathe, take a breath, deep breath, what happened afterwards?"

There was another pause before he mumbled quietly, "I called Bobby and he agreed, we needed to detox him. The hard way."

Charlotte frowned, sitting up a little more as she set her book aside. "Okay?"

"We- we locked him in Bobby's panic room, it's demon proof, monster proof, Sam proof, I just- I didn't know what else to do. He's my little brother- and I just- I can't see him like that- he- Char-"

She nodded her head and closed her eyes. "I'm leaving right now. Look Dean, you had to, for him. You know that. He said he'd stopped and he either didn't or couldn't. You're doing this to help him and," she took a sharp breath and shook her head, "hopefully he'll thank you for it."

There was nothing but slow, deep breaths for several seconds before she heard Dean whisper, "I just need you here. I can't- I can hear him, yelling, and I can't-"

"I'm coming okay? I'm coming."

"Thank you."

"I'll see you soon," she whispered before she hung up and faced Natalie. "I'm going to Bobby's."

"What's happened to Sam?"

Charlotte sighed, debated for a moment before she shook her head, "You don't want to know."

Natalie folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes into a glare. "Yes, I do. What's happened?"

Charlotte sighed again and ran a hand over her face. "Sam had told us he'd stopped drinking demon blood. Presented with the opportunity to drink it he gave in and it wasn't a pretty sight. Dean and Bobby have agreed that they need to help him detox..."

Natalie waited before she shook her head, "And?"

"And they've locked him up in Bobby's panic room. Cold turkey."

"Fucking hell. I'm coming."

Charlotte stared at Natalie, more out of shock for hearing her swear. It was a rarity and it always surprised her. It took her another moment to catch up to what else she'd said and she stood up with a shake of her head, "You don't have to."

"I want to."

"It's not going to be pretty."

Natalie looked defiant as she gathered up her things and finished munching on her breakfast as she went. "I don't care. I want to be there for him, he needs to know that we're there for him, all of us."

Charlotte sighed and grabbed her shoes, "I can't change your mind can I?"

"Nope." 

"Fine, let's go."


	34. 2009 May part 2

**A/N:** Sorry it's been a while and I know this chapter isn't much, but I wanted to focus a little more on the personal interactions rather than get to the bigger stuff (*cough* season 4 finale *cough*). From now on I will be updating this story on Tuesdays as it works out better for me. Enjoy.

2009 – May

Part 2

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Dean looked up as the door opened. He stood up, turning towards Charlotte before he froze and frowned at the sight of Natalie right on her tail. "Natalie?"

"Where is he?" the other hunter blurted out.

"What?" Dean said, still confused and he looked to Charlotte for some kind of clue. She shrugged.

"Dean!" Dean snapped his head back to Natalie. "Where is he?"

"Look, Natalie-"

"Don't," she started in a low voice, "I know he's _your_ brother, and I know I'm just some stranger to you still, but I care about Sam and right now, he needs to know that there are people here for him, people who care about him. So, I'll ask again. Where is he?"

Dean pursed his lips for a moment, his eyes locked with Natalie's before he looked away and nodded his head towards the stairs, "Downstairs. Locked in a panic room. Nothing can get in or out except us."

Natalie left, her feet stomping down the stairs and Dean looked up to see Charlotte watching the door. He glanced at the door and could hear the faint murmur of voices drifting up the stairs. He sighed and moved towards Charlotte. When he had her attention he grabbed her wrist and tugged her behind him towards the back door.

They were silent as they moved out into the first row of cars, silent as Dean let go and turned, rubbing one hand over his mouth as he tried to form the right words. They were silent as Charlotte folded her arms with a worried frown and silent as Dean paced for a couple of seconds before he stopped and faced her. "Before you murder me, I want you to know that I had no choice."

Charlotte's eyes narrowed a little further and her shoulders tensed up around her neck, "Dean? What did you do?"

"I-" he stopped and sagged in his spot. "I, I gave the angels what they wanted."

Slowly she dropped her arms to her sides as her eyes widened. "What?" she whispered.

Dean swallowed and shook his head, "I know that there's a bad history between you guys. I know, but Sam, it was either that or he-"

"You sided with the angels!"

"Sam would become a monster! I couldn't let that happen!"

"There's a catch Dean! There's always a stupid catch!"

Dean shook his head and ground his teeth together. "They said, that I can do this. I can stop Lilith."

Charlotte scoffed and shook her head. "Dean," she said, her voice softening, "they're lying. It's-" she sighed and hung her head. After a few moments she looked back up to him and shook her head again, "It's too late to stop her. Probably. She- She's the _last_ seal. Her death frees Lucifer, and they should know that."

Dean stared, blinked, tilted his head slightly and frowned. "What?"

Charlotte licked her lips, "It's why I was trying to kill Lilith so long ago, why I was being... _cagey_ and ratty with you. I knew that if I didn't do it then then it was too late."

Dean frowned a little more and said, "So why'd you stop?"

She gave him a look and rolled her eyes. "You came back." She paused before she carried on, "You came back and I, I kind of just, put it on hold. I'd missed you and, seeing you back, yeah I freaked out a little but you _were_ supposed to be dead." She sighed and took a step closer to grab Dean's hands with hers. She gave him a small smile and looked down at their joined hands before she glanced back up at him. "I was afraid of losing you, again, and I didn't want you getting into trouble that would get you killed. I worried more about you, and Sam, than killing a demon."

Dean squeezed her fingers gently as he studied her face before he smiled slightly and whispered, "Aren't you romantic?"

Charlotte snorted and pushed against Dean's chest, "Dick."

He grinned and pulled her against his chest so that he could wrap his arms around her shoulders. "You love it."

"I swear to God, if you're making a joke-"

Dean laughed and kissed her cheek. "Always." He closed his eyes and sighed as he held onto her a little longer before he pulled back far enough to look at her again. "If it makes you feel any better, it was Cas I made the deal with."

Charlotte shrugged a shoulder and leaned her cheek against his hand. "Not massively, but I'll take it."

"And I promise not to kill Lilith."

"Good." She pecked his lips and pressed her forehead to his with a small hum. They stayed like that for a few seconds, wrapped up in each others arms before Charlotte whispered, "You're doing the right thing, for Sam."

Dean's eyes snapped open and he ducked his head, "So why does it feel like I'm killing him?"

"Demon blood."

Dean sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Why didn't I see it sooner?"

"Don't beat yourself up, this isn't your fault, and it isn't Sam's." He snorted and Charlotte slapped his side, "Shut up. He'd just lost his brother and Ruby was offering him a path to revenge paved in good intentions."

"Yeah, with _demon blood_."

Charlotte poked Dean's side and forced him to look back at her, "Hell." Dean froze at the word and Charlotte kissed his cheek gently before she carried on in a small voice, "You remember how you told me that you said yes? That you said yes because you felt like you had no other choice? Because it felt as though you had nothing left?" Dean squeezed her shoulders slightly, his eyes glazed over as the muscles in his jaw tightened. "Now see it from Sam''s perspective. Lilith was responsible for sending you to hell. Ruby was offering him a way to get back on his feet, get back in the fight and kill her."

Dean stared at her, the muscles in his arms tense. Slowly, he managed to relax and pull her back against his chest so that he could bury his face in the crook of her neck. "It's Sammy-" he offered finally.

"I know."

"Sam-"

"_I know_. And we're trying to help him, we're _going_ to help him."

Dean nodded his head and closed his eyes as he clung to Charlotte a little tighter again. "I hope so."

* * *

Natalie stroked her fingers through Sam's hair and watched his face carefully with a soft expression. She'd had no idea anybody could look so... _broken_. She hummed quietly listening to his breathing with a satisfied feeling that he was still with them, still alive.

"Natalie?" he whispered hoarsely and she stopped her fingers to meet his gaze.

"Hey Sam," she muttered with a wide smile, "how are you feeling?"

He frowned and tried to pull his head away from her hand, "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"What are you doing? Here?"

She raised her brows at him and withdrew her hand to prop herself up on the floor. "What do you think Sam? I'm here for _you_."

He stared at her a little longer before he looked away. "Why?"

"Why?" she started, "Because I care about you? Because I know what it's like to feel at the end of your rope?" Sam snapped his head back towards her with a deep frown. "I know what it's like to be desperate enough to do anything, even if it's no doubt going to be bad for you? Did I mention that I care about you?"

Sam tilted his head slightly and muttered, "What happened?"

Natalie sighed and stood up to perch herself on the edge of the bed. "That's a story for a different day." She stroked her fingers through his hair and mumbled, "For now, can you just rest? Please? We need you to be you."

Sam stared up at her with wide eyes before he let his head fall back against the pillow with a nod. "Okay."

"Thank you." She leaned down to press a small kiss to his temple and whispered, "I'll be right here."


	35. 2009 May part 3

**A/N: **In case you guys didn't know, I'm a huge destiel fan, so the conversation between Dean and Cas is, if you squint, kind of destiel-y. But anyway, things are heating up. Things are happenings. Thank you to everyone reading this and please enjoy.

2009 – May 

Part 3

"You lied!"

Castiel frowned and tilted his head slightly. "What?"

Dean scoffed and shook his head as he took a step towards the angel, "About the apocalypse, about stopping it. We need to kill Lilith? You sure about that? Because she's also the _last. Seal. _Or did you forget to mention that?"

Castiel's frown didn't leave his face and he slowly shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dean sighed and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. "The angels _want_ this apocalypse to happen! _You_ want it to happen! Tell me Cas, is there one thing you've said to me that's true?"

"Dean, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Go fuck yourself Cas!" Dean cursed, turning away from Cas with a shake of his head.

Cas narrowed his eyes at Dean's back, reached a hand out to his shoulder, turned Dean around and slammed him back against the nearest car. Dean stared back at Cas with shock and mild fear in his eyes. "The angels _don't _want Lucifer walking free. It would be a _very_ bad decision, so why would I lie?"

Dean steeled himself and fixed his glare back onto his face, "You tell me Cas. Why the hell do you want this?"

"I don't."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"What about your bosses huh?"

Cas tilted his head and pursed his lips, "Uriel was working against us, but he's dead. I- I killed him."

Dean blinked, pulled his head back slightly and frowned at Cas, "What?"

Cas let go of Dean's shoulder to duck his eyes towards the floor. "I discovered that he was the one who had set Alastair free to harm you."

Dean paused a moment before he asked, "Why didn't you say?"

"Because it's angel business. Nothing you need to worry about. Besides, it's in the past." There was silence for a few seconds before Cas turned away from Dean with a shake of his head, "I'm on your side Dean. I don't know how I can convince you of that," he turned to face the hunter again, "but I don't want this apocalypse any more than you do."

Dean stared at Cas for several seconds before he said, "Sure doesn't feel that way from where I'm standing."

"Dean-"

"Figure it out Cas," Dean said before he turned and stalked back inside to try to grab some sleep.

* * *

Matthew watched Anna talk across the room with three other angels she still trusted. He didn't know any of them, but she wanted to stop the apocalypse, so he trusted them, somewhat. They still held contact with Heaven and other angels upstairs and they were feeding Anna some recent news. He was only half listening, his mind too focused on the strange feeling that hung inside of his chest.

There was no way to describe it and he rubbed a hand over the centre of his chest with a deep breath and a small frown. Something was off and he hoped it was just his gut instincts about Anna and the other angels. He wanted to believe them, and something was nagging at him in the back of his mind to trust Anna, to trust her on nothing but her word, but he couldn't fight the feeling that he didn't trust her and it left him feeling as though something had started to hollow out inside of him.

"As long as Sam is still locked away then we should be fine," Anna remarked and Matthew lifted his head up, trying to focus back in on the conversation.

One of the other angels shrugged his shoulders, "They have a back up plan. They're insistent that it is going to happen but trying to get anything out of them, I'm not that high level Anna. None of us are."

"So we think like them," Matthew added, attracting four sets of eyes in his direction. "We're angels trying to keep the apocalypse rolling. How do we make sure Sam kills her?"

"Help him to escape," one of the angels commented.

"How? Do we know how he's locked away? Who's watching him? Who's making sure nobody talks to him?"

Anna raised one brow and Matthew tried to ignore what looked like a smirk crossing her face to look at the only other male angel who said, "He's at Bobby Singer's house in the basement with Dean Winchester, Charlotte Dixon and Natalie Miller. Natalie is staying by his side while the others are staying within the household."

"Another angel," one of the others said.

"How? Who?"

"Castiel," Anna whispered.

* * *

Sam twisted his head to one side as the muscles in his arms tensed and his breathing got heavier. Natalie laid curled up on the floor against the bed, a blanket draped over her and a pillow underneath her head as she shuffled slightly as Sam grunted in his sleep.

Azrael stepped next to her and lifted her into his arms. After a moment they appeared in Bobby's living room and he set her on the couch, making sure she was still asleep before he disappeared back downstairs to undo the cuffs on Sam's wrist. He pressed two fingers to Sam's head, watched the hunter frown with a smile and disappeared.

In his dream, Sam watched Lilith talk amongst other demons. They pointed to a map which, from where Sam was hiding behind a marble pillar, was of the Sioux Falls area with a circle around Bobby's house.

"Azazel's boy king," Lilith scoffed with a chuckle, "I wonder how great a king he'll be without his little girlfriend, his brother and the other one."

"What are you thinking?" one of the demons asked, a grin on his face.

"A little blood, a little torture. If we show Sam, on Dean and Charlotte, what we're willing to do to his girlfriend, then maybe he'll stop his little quest to stop Lucifer."

There was a chuckle from the demon as he inched closer to Lilith, "What do you want us to do?"

Lilith looked away from the map and towards him with a cruel smile, "Watch the house. Make sure it's surrounded and we have people in place."

"I'll get right on it."

Sam bolted up in the small cot, his eyes wide and the panic room coming back into view. "Natalie," he mumbled and he threw his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He took two steps before he realised that his wrists were free and he lifted them up in disbelief. A creak made him look up to see the door open up and he stared at an empty hallway with a sense that he was walking into a trap. "Hello?" he called out, taking small, tentative steps towards it. "Who's there?"

When he stepped out of the panic room he was alone and he took one last look at the room before he bolted it, quietly, up the stairs. He slowly stepped out into the main house, listened carefully, and beelined it towards the salvage yard out back. He looked for the nearest usable car, hot wired it and drove out of the salvage yard and on to the road.

He and Ruby had a safe house and if they were fast and if Sam didn't make too many stops, Lilith would be dead by tomorrow.


	36. 2009 May part 4

**A/N:** Sorry it's late in the day, I got distracted talking to an old friend as I was trying to finish this after work. Enjoy some slightly different season 4 stuff.

2009 – May

Part 4

Dean glared as he grabbed his car keys and his phone, shoving both of them into his pockets. Natalie glared at his back, rubbing one of her hands as Charlotte struggled for words. Dean stomped out of the room and Charlotte turned to Natalie with a small sigh, "He didn't mean it."

"I meant it when I punched him," she bit back as she turned away to grab some ice for her hand.

Charlotte ground her teeth together and followed after Dean. She grabbed his arm before he climbed into his car and turned him around to face her. "It's not her fault."

"She was supposed to be watching him, not sleeping upstairs and leaving the damn door open."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him and shoved his shoulder. "You're pissed, I get it, stop taking it out on us."

"Well what am I suppo-"

Charlotte shoved his shoulder again, making Dean stumble back against his car. "Stop it and think. What do you know?"

"Sam's gone to find Ruby and Natalie decided to take a kip upstairs leaving the damned door open." She raised a brow at him and gave him a look before he sighed, "Well who else could've let him out?"

"Ruby? The angels? They can work some impressive shit on people. Stop playing the blame game and find your brother." She reached out for his hand and squeezed his fingers gently, "Take a deep breath," she went on in a softer voice, "and just take this calmly." Dean closed his eyes and nodded, taking slow breaths. She smiled at him and brought his hand up to kiss his knuckles, "You sure you want to do this alone?"

"Yeah," Dean breathed out, flicking his eyes open to watch her, "he's my brother."

"Mine too," she teased with a smirk.

He smiled briefly at her before he let go of her hand and grabbed his keys, "I'll call you."

"You better."

Charlotte stepped back into Bobby's house with a small sigh before she slowly approached her friend. "How's your hand?"

Natalie glared at her and shifted the bag of ice around her hand. "I hope he gets a black eye."

Charlotte smiled and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs with her arms folded across the backrest. "I hope so too. Don't take it personally."

"I won't," Natalie mumbled before she dropped the ice into the sink, "but he needs to think before he speaks sometimes."

"Try most times," Charlotte sniggered. "He's got a lot on his mind at the moment, so I'll give him a break." Natalie gave her a look and Charlotte held her hands up, "Except for blaming you for Sam getting free. He doesn't get to accuse you of something like that."

"Has Matthew answered any of your calls yet?"

Charlotte sat up a little straighter in her seat and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "No," she said before she scrolled to his name and pressed dial. She flicked her eyes up to Natalie with worry and listened to the ringing tone continue. "And it worries me. He's with Anna and apparently with his grace again. But it'd be nice of him to say hi and tell me that he's fine."

Natalie raised one brow and flexed the fingers in her sore hand, "He is an Angel right? All powerful, super strong angel?"

"Naive angel," she muttered.

"How old is he? Do angels even age? I mean, aren't they around from the start of time?"

Charlotte shrugged a shoulder and hung up when the call went to the answer phone. "Well, there's a lot I still don't know, and if he answered then I'd be able to tell you."

"You know," Natalie started with a shrug, "maybe he does know better, I mean, he was an angel before your dad right so maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Anna tried to kill me, then kidnapped me to be tortured."

Natalie rolled her eyes, "Drama queen."

Charlotte swung an arm out with a small smirk and tried to hit Natalie's side with a, "Hey!"

* * *

Dean watched Sam leave the motel room with a frown. He wanted to talk to Sam, alone, about this, about all of this, but he couldn't do that with Ruby in the picture. He knew that if anybody was to blame it was her and with her gone, he hoped that Sam would think clearly. Ruby was a demon and demons lied, it was as simple as that.

He gave it a few more seconds, until he was certain Sam had left, before he approached the door. He pushed it open, stepped inside and froze. The door closed behind him and he frowned, straightening up to see four white walls staring at him with fancy gold decorations. Large paintings were hung about the place with a large marble table in the centre of the room. Dean took a few cautious steps into the room, his eyes focusing on the beer in ice on the table and the platters full of burgers.

"Hello, Dean," Zachariah said and Dean looked up at the angel who stood on the other side of the table. Dean glanced around the room with a small frown, "You're looking fit."

"What is this? Where the hell am I?" He looked around the room, wondering why Zach was talking to him and not Cas. Wasn't Cas the one who'd been dealing with him? Keeping an eye on him?

"Call it a Green Room," Zachariah said as he grabbed one of the beers from the ice bucket. "The big finale is close, so we're keeping you safe." He held the bottle out to Dean with a wide smile, "Sit back and relax."

Dean eyed the bottle before he blinked and looked up at Zach, "Keeping me safe for _what_ exactly? Way I heard it you guys _want_ this apocalypse, so remind me, how am I supposed to stop Lilith?"

Zach's smile didn't fade from his face. He stared at Dean for a few seconds before he put the beer back down and his smile started to slip from his features. He sighed and shook his head, "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag." He shrugged his shoulders with a sly grin and pulled out one of the chairs at the table. He sat down, propping his legs on the table, "You're not going to stop _Lilith_. Lucifer. You're going to stop _him_. It's been written since the day your parents met, well, since forever really."

Dean blinked and reeled back slightly before realisation hit him and he narrowed his eyes at Zach. "You let Sam out?"

Zach tilted his head to one side with a grin, "Well, not _me _but an associate of mine."

"You son of a bitch," Dean whispered.

Zach chuckled and held his hands up, "Sorry Dean, fate's had this battle written for years. It's going to happen one way or another, whether you like it or not."

Dean curled his hands into fists by his side. He glanced around the room again with a glare, "And all the angels are in on this? Cas too?"

"Of course not, we couldn't have a riot on our hands. Not everybody would agree that having this big showdown between Lucifer and Michael would be best, but imagine a paradise on Earth when we win."

"Fuck. You," Dean spat out.

* * *

Charlotte tapped her finger against her phone as she glazed over the news on the laptop in front of her. It wasn't anything interesting, and she was passing the time until Dean called her. It had been twelve hours now and she hadn't heard a single thing from him. She'd left him two voice mails and four messages with nothing in return. On top of that Sam hadn't answered any of his calls and she was getting more and more worried as the minutes ticked by.

Bobby had left three hours after Dean when he'd received an urgent call of distress from one of his old hunting buddies. Natalie had been glued to her phone, practically begging Sam to call her before she'd passed out on the couch from exhaustion.

Charlotte felt her eyes grow heavy with the need to rest, but she didn't want to close her eyes, not when she had three people not returning her calls. It ate away at her with worry and she tapped her finger a little slower against her phone. The words on the screen started to blur and she rested her finger on her phone as she took deep breaths.

"_Just for a second,"_ she thought to herself as she folded her arms on top of the table and rested her head down. She yawned and closed her eyes, her mind and body already starting to drift off.

"_Well if that isn't a change."_

_She felt warm trickles down the back of her neck and over her chin and cheeks. Something told her that they were blood and she shook her arms with the instinct to run, only they were shackled above her head and she felt panic rise within her chest. _

"_I've been doing some research," Crowley exclaimed happily as he set a bloody knife down onto a table of bloodied tools. "I'm not going to bore you with details, but I do have people to thank. I guess." _

"_What,"Charlotte mumbled, her speech slurred, "are you talking about?"_

_Crowley grabbed a branding iron and turned to face her with a grin. "A little something to keep me entertained whilst everybody up there," he pointed to the ceiling above his head, "runs around biting each other's ankles."_

_Charlotte shook her arms, the muscles heavy with pain and aching, as Crowley moved over to the open fire he had burning on the other side of the room. He set the branding iron into it and Charlotte tried to see what was on it and tried to figure out how she could get out of there. _

"_Hush now," Crowley chided, "you won't even remember a thing." _

"_Fuck you," she growled. _

_He smirked and gave her a wink, "You already have." _

_Charlotte ground her teeth together and glared at him, "I'm going to kill you."_

"_I'll be waiting," he mocked as he grabbed the branding iron and showed her the red hot flat end. She couldn't figure out what it was, she'd never seen it before, and she pulled and wriggled on the chain that held her up as Crowley moved behind her. "This is going to hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you," he whispered as he grabbed her shoulder to pull her towards him. _

_A moment later and she reared her head back with a yell of pain, her muscles tensing as she tried to move forward away from it. The pain went on and on and when Crowley finally released her shoulder Charlotte's head was dipped, her eyes closed with tears falling down her cheeks. Her fingers twitched as they slowly uncurled and she took short, shallow breaths. She hissed with a small cry as Crowley ran his fingers over the mark he'd just burnt into her shoulder, "Beautiful," he whispered. _

She bolted up, her eyes wide and her shoulder itching. She panted as she stood up, knocking her chair back, and ran out of the room and up the stairs to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and yanked her shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor as she turned to look at her shoulder in the mirror.

There was a smudged something, raised and pink in colour, on her shoulder and she turned a little more to try to get a better look at it.

A vicious knock sounded on the door and Natalie's fearful voice filtered through a moment later. "Charlotte? Are you okay? What's happened? Charlotte?"

Charlotte stared at the raised pink mark for a moment longer before she unlocked the door and looked at Natalie with panic in her eyes. She turned her back towards her and pointed to the pink mark and said, "What does that look like to you?"

There was a few moments of silence before Charlotte felt Natalie's fingers on her shoulder and she held her breath before Natalie sighed, the shrug echoing in her fingertips, "Like you caught yourself on something? Maybe the edge of a pole? Why? What's going on?"

Charlotte turned her back a little more to look at the half moon shape on her shoulder and she swallowed nervously, "I don't know," she whispered.


	37. 2009 May part 5

**A/N: **Sorry it's late but here's the season 4 finale. I want to say thank you to **bjq**, I'm hanging in there. I want you guys to enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think. There should be a new chapter on Tuesday (Par everything goes to plan)

2009 – May

Part 5

Dean yelled as he used one of the chairs to bash a hole into the wall. There was no way he was going to be stuck here to be the angels bitch whilst Sam was walking right into Lilith's trap. There had to be a way out of here and if there was one thing Dean was it was persistent in getting what he wanted.

He brought the chair back to take another swing before he paused, eyes wide as he stared at the wall that had fixed itself. "No," he mumbled before he groaned and tossed the chair across the room. "Let me out of here you son of a bitch!" he yelled.

"Dean," Cas said, making Dean turn round to face the angel with a glare.

Dean narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, "What do _you_ want?"

Cas looked away from Dean and up towards the ceiling before he flicked his eyes back to Dean. "I want to say that I'm sorry that it's ended like this. We've been through much together, you and I."

"'Sorry'?" Dean mimicked before he threw a punch. Cas turned his face to one side and it took Dean a moment before the pain set in and he turned to flex his hand with a wince. He fixed a glare on his face as he spat out, "It's Armageddon, Cas. You need a bigger word than 'Sorry'."

"Understand-"

Dean whirled and took another step towards Cas so that he was toe to toe with him. "Understand what? That you're a sorry stupid son of a bitch who's helping to end the world? You want me to roll over and follow through with _God's plan?_ Screw God's plan! And do you know why? Cause there are people down there Cas! Real people living in the here and now! Innocent people who deserve to live! Families! Are you really going to just stand there and watch them burn?"

Cas didn't back down, but Dean could see the façade slip from the angel's face slightly. "You talk about people living, but all I see in _you_ is pain. I see the guilt you carry, your confusion," Cas tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes slightly, "would you rather live like that? Or in peace?"

"Yes!" Dean snapped with a shake of his head, "If you really can see me, then you know that I'll take Sam, even as he is, over everything you bastards have to offer. You know this is wrong Cas! Screw the company line, screw your buddies, and do the _right_ thing." Cas turned away and Dean almost growled. He reached out to grab his shoulder and pulled him back to face him. "Look at me! You were gonna help me once, weren't you? You were going to _warn _me about this before they dragged you back to bible-camp. Well help me now, please."

Cas tilted his head back slightly and said evenly, "And what would you have me do?"

"Get me to Sam. We can stop it before it's too late."

There was a flicker of emotion that crossed Cas' face, but Dean couldn't tell what it was. He watched as Cas carefully said, "I do that, we will all be hunted. We will all be killed, and not just you, me and Sam, but the others too."

"If there is anything worth dying for, it's this." There was a pause before Cas looked away and slowly shook his head. Dean's mood changed and he couldn't help the words that dropped like curses from his mouth, "You spineless," he muttered, turning away with a scoff, "soulless son of a bitch. What do you care about dying? You're already dead. We're done."

"Dean you don't-"

"We're done!" He gave it a second before he looked behind him, almost hoping that Cas was still there. He was disappointed to see that he was alone and he sighed, out of ideas.

* * *

Charlotte grabbed book after book, looking for anything that resembled the small drawing Natalie had jotted down for her to see. It looked incomplete, but she would take that over nothing. "Charlotte," Natalie started, laying a hand on her shoulder, "just stop for a moment and tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know," she muttered, glancing up briefly before she went straight back to flicking through pages.

"Stop!" Charlotte froze and stared back up at her friend. Natalie's face was twisted into worry and she pushed the books away from her hands. "What is going on? You know something, so tell me."

Charlotte took several deep breaths before she sighed and slumped into the chair behind Bobby's desk, a hand on her face. She pulled her hand away and sat up a little straighter as Natalie perched herself on the edge of the desk. "I made a deal."

Natalie froze and stared at Charlotte before she stood up and took a few steps away. "You idiot! What the hell! Why? Oh my God are you serious? After you chew Dean out for doing the exact same thing you go ahead and-"

"For you!"

Natalie stopped and turned to see Charlotte still sat in the chair, a defeated look on her face. "What?"

Charlotte sighed and looked away, "You remember when I shot you? I killed you! Okay? I killed you and I couldn't-" she fumbled for words and looked down at her lap, "So I called Crowley,"

"The demon?"

"Yeah, I called him, told him to bring you back."

"For your soul?"

Charlotte shrugged, still not meeting Natalie's eyes. "You deserved better than me."

"Okay," Natalie started with a shake of her head, "don't."

"What? Was I just supposed to leave you like that? Go on knowing that I'd killed you? I couldn't! You deserve better, a live."

"And you don't?"

Charlotte scoffed and turned away, "You don't understand."

"No, I don't, so please explain it to me."

Charlotte turned her head back to Natalie with a glare and squared her shoulders, "Look, I made a deal with Crowley. The next time I died I was supposed to have my soul stuck in hell. But I'm here, Matthew brought me back and I feel fine but-" she shook her head and her shoulders deflated slightly, "I don't know." She shrugged, "Something's wrong because whenever I go to sleep," she shrugged again, "it feels like I'm in hell. I see Crowley, there's blood, and I don't, I don't know what it means! I don't know what's happening or why okay? I don't- know."

Natalie was silent for several minutes before she said, "What?" Charlotte stared up at her with wide eyes and shifted in her seat. "This has been happening, and you didn't think to say _anything_?"

Charlotte ducked her gaze away with a tiny shrug, "No offence, but Sam going nuclear with demon blood and the possible rising of Lucifer seem a little more important than my whacky dreams?"

"They don't look like dreams anymore do they?"

Charlotte sighed and rolled her eyes, "So how about we look for whatever this is," she grabbed the piece of paper with the symbol on it and waved it for Natalie to see, "and figure out what it is and what it does."

Natalie sighed and slinked back to the desk, "Have you told Dean or Sam this?"

Charlotte snorted and shook her head, "Oh yeah, cause me telling him that I worked with a demon and slept with one went over well."

Natalie threw a punch to her arm, "You tell him. When this is all over, when you get a chance, you tell him."

"Fine, fine, let's just," she let out a deep breath and leaned forward in her seat to grab one of the books, "let's just look."

* * *

Dean lost track of time and couldn't stop thinking about Sam and how this was all going wrong. He only hoped that if he couldn't stop Sam that maybe Charlotte and Natalie would do something. He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling mentally exhausted and stopped his pacing at the table, still laden with beer and burgers.

He dropped his hand to his side and thought that if he was stuck here for a while, then what was the harm? He reached out for a burger but there was a hand on his shoulder spinning him around and shoving him back. He opened his mouth to say something but Cas appeared in his field of vision and slammed a hand over his mouth. There was a look of determination on the angel's face and Dean watched, slightly panicked, as he silently drew a knife from his pocket and held it up for Dean to see. He eyed the blade for a moment before he nodded his head once.

Cas stepped back, letting Dean go and pushed the sleeve on his coat up. He sliced across his arm and Dean pulled a face before he watched Cas use his own blood to draw a symbol onto the wall. He realised what symbol Cas was drawing and he turned as he heard Zachariah say, "Castiel! Would you explaining just what the hell you're doing?"

Dean looked from angel to the other and Cas looked up just as he finished drawing to slam his hand against it. Dean had to shield his eyes as a bright flash of white enveloped the room and once it was gone he noticed that Zachariah was gone too.

"He won't be gone long," Cas mentioned as he pulled his sleeve back down. "We have to find Sam now."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, but I know somebody who will." Cas grabbed Dean's shoulder and in the next moment they were stood inside of a familiar house.

"W-wait, this isn't supposed to happen," Chuck stammered out. Dean turned to find the prophet and Chuck turned away to mumble into the phone, "No, Lady, this is definitely supposed to happen, but I just got to call you back." He put the phone down and held his arms up, "You aren't supposed to be here."

"But you know where Sam's going to be," Dean said, already moving towards Chuck's laptop on the kitchen table.

"Well yeah, St Mary's Convent, but you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story."

"Yeah, well," Castiel started, giving Dean a look, "we're making it up as we go."

Dean looked up at the angel with a tiny smirk that was quickly wiped away when the lights started to flicker and the floor rumbled. "Not again!" Chuck yelled.

"It's the Archangel!" Cas shouted, turning towards Dean, "I'll hold him off! I'll hold them all off! Just stop Sam!"

And in another moment Dean found himself in a cold hallway, the stone walls giving the place an eerie feeling. He looked down at his feet to see bodies slumped against walls and he felt his gut begin to sink, Sam was here. He followed the bodies down the corridor and he turned the corner to see an open set of doors. Sam had his back to him and he could see Lilith behind him. Ruby turned to see Dean, a grin on her face and with a flick of her hand the doors closed.

"No, no, no," Dean muttered as he made a run for the door. "Sam! Sam! Open the door! Sam!" He kicked at the door and shouldered it, trying anything to get it to open before it was too late. "Sam!" He yelled as he carried on kicking the door before it finally burst open. He took in the scene quickly, Lilith dead, Sam slumped on the floor and Ruby turning to look at him. He drew the demon blade and stormed forward towards her.

"You're too late," she cheered.

"I don't care," Dean murmured. Behind Ruby he watched Sam stand and grab a hold of Ruby and Dean carried on walking to thrust the blade into her chest and twist, watching the light flash and the demon die. She fell to the floor in a heap and Dean turned to look at his brother.

"Dean, I'm- I'm sorry."

A bright light appeared from the floor and Dean grabbed Sam's arm, tugging him away from it, "Sammy let's go."

Sam clutched at his brother's arm, his eyes fixed on the light, "Dean. He's- He's coming."


	38. 2009 May part 6

**A/N:** Sorry it's a day late, and really late in the day, but we had a spontaneous family cinema outing to see the final Hunger Games film. Next chapter will involve a lot more action, I promise.

2009 – May

Part 6

Matthew felt it, heard it like a triumph in his ear: _He is risen. _There was a sinking feeling in his chest and he ground his teeth together. They were supposed to be stopping this from happening, they were supposed to be helping humanity.

"We're too late," Anna whispered.

He nodded in agreement and turned to look at her. He held his hands up with a shrug, "Now what? We failed."

She shook her head, "We can still fix this. We can help put Lucifer back in the cage."

"How?"

Anna looked away and Matthew could see something working away behind her eyes. "I need you to do something for me." She flicked her gaze back up at him and moved to one of the tables in the room. She grabbed a piece of paper and started to write down a list. "I need you to gather these ingredients."

She handed the paper to him and he looked down at it with a frown. "What do you need these for?"

"A spell."

He glanced up at her, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Anna, trust is a two way street."

"I'll tell you, once I have those ingredients. Now go, we're already running out of time until Lucifer finds a vessel."

He pursed his lips and held her gaze for a few seconds before he nodded his head and left.

* * *

Natalie typed away on her laptop, searching every occult site and search engine for the symbol burnt into Charlotte's back. She glanced up at the other woman, flipping through page after page, with a frown. She could understand why Charlotte sold her soul for her, there wasn't anybody else Natalie could think of that she would do the same for, but she didn't like it.

She looked back at her screen and her shoulders deflated as another search came up empty. "Any luck?" Seconds ticked by and Natalie started another search on a different site. When she still didn't receive any response she looked up to see Charlotte staring intently at a page. "You find something?" Charlotte didn't budge or shift. Natalie's frown deepened and she stood up, scraping her chair back, "Charlotte?"

"Huh?" she snapped her head up with a surprised look on her face. "What?"

"What did you find?"

Charlotte closed the book and shook her head, "Nothing." She sighed and stood up with a stretch, "What do you say we take a break? I'm starving, want me to do a food run?"

Natalie frowned at her friend but nodded with a small, "Sure, usual." Charlotte nodded her head, grabbed her keys and left, running a hand through her hair. Once she was gone, the sound of her car disappearing, she grabbed the book Charlotte had been reading and flicked her eyes over the first few pages. Her frown deepened at what appeared to be an old spell book. "I knew Bobby had some weird stuff," she mumbled to herself as she skimmed over some of the spells, "but this is dark."

She sat down and slowed down her flicking of the pages to take in each spell, trying to figure out which one Charlotte had been staring at. She lost track of time, her eyes glued to the pages of the book, when her phone went off and she lifted the book up and walked with it to the other table. She searched blindly for her phone and answered it with a distracted, "Yeah?"

"Natalie," Sam started hesitantly and Natalie blinked her gaze away from the book as he carried on, "I'm sorry. F-for everything. I don't know how- how to explain it-"

"Sam," she whispered, sitting back down in her chair with the book in her lap, "take a breath, relax, just talk to me."

"Okay," he whispered, and she heard him shuffle about on the other end of the line before he took a few deep breaths. "Look, I know that the demon blood was bad, that Ruby was using me and I'm sorry that I may have freaked you out and made you _afraid_ of me. I'm sorry for everything, I don't know how to make it right, I don't know how to make it up to you, to Dean, to everyone, but I'm sorry."

Natalie stared down at the book, not taking any of it in whilst she worked over Sam's words. She licked her lips and swallowed, ducked her head and let out a small breath. "We all lose our way Sam," she started carefully, a sad smile on her face, "the best we can do is learn from it and move on."

There was a pause before Sam said, "But- you don't get it. I started the apocalypse. I killed Lilith, the _last seal_ and broke Lucifer free. How can I learn from that? How can I move on? I- I don't know how to fix this. He's the literal _devil_ and I have no clue on where to start in killing him."

Natalie felt her heart beat a little faster with fear. Lucifer was free? Sam had set him free? She bit her lip and wiped a hand over her face. "Sam," she started slowly, "you were," she carried on, choosing each word before she spoke it, "you were lied to, by somebody you trusted. You, you thought you were doing the right thing."

"Yeah, but Nat, it's _Lucifer_."

"We'll fix this," she muttered, feeling as hollow as the words were coming from her mouth. "We have to. We'll fix it."

Sam sniffed on the other end of the line and she could hear the tiny flicker of a smile in his voice, "Thanks." Natalie smiled and let her attention drift back to the book in her hands. "What are you two doing whilst we're tackling the start of the apocalypse?"

"Having a slumber party," Natalie mumbled sarcastically.

"You're so funny."

"I know," she muttered back with a grin, "we're doing some research."

"Research? Into what?"

Natalie hesitated and she glanced at the door to Bobby's place with a small frown before she sighed, "A spell. Still trying to figure out the details but," she folded the corner of the page and closed the book before she set it onto the table, "where did you guys say you were again? We could give you guys a hand?"

"Bobby's here, I don't-" he sighed and she could hear the defeat in his voice, "I don't think you guys should come. Who knows, by the time you get here we might be finished looking for the Michael Sword."

"The what?"

"The Michael Sword, a weapon apparently hidden away from everyone, including the angels."

"Right, sounds, sketchy."

"Yeah," Sam muttered with a laugh, "but it's all we've got right now."

Natalie could hear the familiar rumble of Charlotte's car and she stood up to pace the room a little, "Look Sam, just keep us updated please."

"I will."

"Stay safe. All of you." The door opened and Natalie gave Charlotte a wave before she said, "See you."

"Laptop," Charlotte said as soon as Natalie hung up, dropping a couple of bags onto the floor. She didn't get a chance to say anything as Charlotte grabbed her laptop and brought up the news. Natalie stared at the sight of a light coming from a Chapel in Maryland.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"Three guesses where Sam ran off to. You heard anything from them?"

Natalie looked at Charlotte and nodded, "They're fine."

Charlotte raised her brows and Natalie tried to figure out the best way to carry on with what she'd learnt. "And?"

"And Sam may have, accidentally set Lucifer free."

Charlotte's expression dropped and she shook her head, "Oh fuck me."

* * *

Matthew pulled his phone from his pocket with a deep frown. He'd been avoiding Charlotte's calls because... his frown deepened. Something in him was telling him that he shouldn't answer the call and he hesitated his finger over the answer button. He felt his stomach turn as he picked up with a wince, "Charlotte?"

"Now you pick up! Jeez, and only _after _Lucifer is freed from his cage. Just in time to help stop that! Oh wait, you've been busy doing- what exactly?"

He recoiled from the bitterness in her tone and turned away from Anna who was going over some sort of plan with the other angels. He hadn't been able to focus properly and he put it down to the ringing in his ears from the other angels, yelling about Lucifer. "We can still stop him before he gets a vessel."

"A vessel?"

"He's an archangel, he still needs somebody to say yes."

There was a pause before he heard the eye roll in her voice, "Oh great, just great, an _arch_angel. Fantastic news _Dad_, thanks!"

He sighed and closed his eyes. The sickening feeling in his stomach was getting worse and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did you call for a reason? Or just to yell at me?"

"Well I was hoping you could give us a hand, but don't let me stop you from joining forces with Anna the bitch."

The anger that spiked inside of his veins was unexpected and he snapped back a quick, "She's an angel with far greater knowledge about the old times. She was a high ranking superior with knowledge most angels would _die _tohave. So by being here, I'm in a far better place than you and the other hunters out there trying to stop Lucifer."

Silence filled the line for several seconds before Charlotte muttered, "What crawled up your ass and died?"

"Why do you always pick a fight?"

He heard Charlotte scoff before she said, "You know what, when you come to your senses, call me, but don't come to me when she screws you over." The line went dead and he shoved his phone into his pocket. The twisting and nausea in his stomach started to disappear and he breathed a sigh of relief before he turned back to the others to try to focus on what they were saying.

* * *

Natalie watched Charlotte slam her phone down onto the table with a yell. She raised her brows and refused to move from her chair. "Calm down," she said quietly.

"He's an idiot!"

"Charlotte..."

"No. Angel or not he's an idiot. He should know better, and to come at me with some crap about Anna knowing more because she _ranked_ higher than him or some bullshit? Fuck him. Fuck Anna and fuck all of the other angels."

Natalie pursed her lips and gave her friend a look. "We don't know what they're doing and what they're having to deal with. I would say that you just go with it and let him see how he gets on. We'll do our own thing and he can do his."

Charlotte leaned against the desk, her arms folded over her chest with a glare, "Yet having an angel on our side, fully powered up, would help us out, a lot, don't you think?"

"Don't take it out on me," Natalie said with her own glare, "I'm your friend, and I'm here to help you, so don't start with me."

Charlotte stared at her for a few seconds before she hung her head with a sigh. "I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly, "I just, everything it's-"

"I know."

Charlotte looked back up at her with a deep breath and gave her a tiny smile. "I'm sorry."

"Good," Natalie said with a grin, "now, research, Sword of Michael."

"Sword of what?"

"Michael, a weapon that will kill Lucifer."

Charlotte raised her brows and turned back to the desk in Bobby's library. "Right."

Thirty minutes passed of tapping keys and pages being turned before Charlotte's phone rang. She didn't bother to look at the caller ID as she answered it with a short, "This better be life or death impor-"

"Bobby's in the hospital and you need to get over here. Now."

"Dean?"

"Yeah," Dean carried on, his words rushed, "look, me and Sam, we're going to go find some weapon our Dad had in storage. Demons already have a head start but Bobby's been stabbed and he could do with a friendly face."

Charlotte stood, already grabbing her keys, "I'm already heading to my car." She waved at Natalie, pulling the other hunter's coat from the back of the chair and chucking it back at her. "How bad is it?" She stepped out of the house and waited for Natalie to rush out before she locked the door and made her way to her car.

"We don't know but it didn't look good."

"Got it, we'll take care of Bobby, you take care of the weapon." She started her car up and put it into reverse.

"Thanks."

"Shut up and start saving the world." She hung up and dropped the phone onto the dashboard before she started to pull out, her tyres squealing against the floor. "Bobby's been stabbed."

"What?"

"I know," Charlotte glanced at Natalie before she sighed and turned a corner to avoid a set of traffic cameras, "Natalie, you can quit any time you want."

Natalie frowned and looked at her friend as she buckled her own seat belt. "What?"

Charlotte took a sharp turn and shrugged a shoulder, "I've kinda dragged into this mess and I don't know where it's going to lead. I don't want to get you killed, again, and I don't want you to feel like you have to come just because I'm asking."

Natalie raised a brow and rolled her eyes, "You didn't ask, you pretty much told me I was coming along for the ride."

"You know what I meant."

Natalie gave a small smirk and sat back in her seat as they passed through a set of lights that were just turning red. "I want to be here. With you, Sam, Dean, the angels. Yeah, it's a mess, but saving the world is kind of important."

Charlotte side eyed her friend and tightened her grip on the steering wheel, "We were the ones that broke it, so it's more _our_ mess to clean up."

Natalie just fixed Charlotte with a stern look and said, "And I'm going to help. You can't get rid of me now, not after everything that's happened."

"Even if you might die?"

"We all might die."

Charlotte gave her another look before she sighed, "And I thought you were supposed to be the positive one."

Natalie laughed, "Shut up and drive faster."

* * *

Bobby closed his eyes with a hiss. The morphine was doing something to take away the pain that was currently stabbing away at his guts, but it was still there and he wished he could just fall asleep until it was over. He took deep breaths and wanted to just get out of here, go home and drink beer until he passed out.

"Bobby?"

He lifted his head to see Charlotte and Natalie walk in, smiles on their faces. Natalie stood at the end of his bed, a wide grin on her face and her hands tucked into the pockets of her coat. Charlotte took a seat on the edge of his bed, her hand grabbing his and he looked her over with a smile. He noticed the tiredness in her eyes and the small bags that were starting to show and he couldn't help saying, "You look like crap."

"Like you're one to talk old man," she remarked.

"I ain't that old. I can still kick both of your asses."

"I don't doubt that for a second," Natalie said.

"Did you two really come all the way out for me?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed, "You got stabbed, pretty badly, of course we're going to come out here."

"Well, not like I don't appreciate the sentiment, but isn't there a bigger problem to deal with? Like Lucifer?"

"We can figure that out later," Natalie said and she took a seat on the guest chair in the room. "What did the doctors say? You good to go?"

Bobby shrugged, "Beats me, I ain't seen them once I woke up. Any word on the two idiots who left me here on my own?"

Charlotte grinned at him and shrugged, "They'll be fine. They always are."

"Except for that time Dean went to hell?"

"Details," Charlotte muttered.

Natalie frowned, flicking her gaze from one person to the other and back. "You know, people shouldn't be able to casually talk about somebody going to hell like we do."

Charlotte shrugged, "Our lives aren't normal."

They talked for another hour before there was a knock on the door and a Doctor came in. "Hey Bobby, how are we feeling?"

Bobby shrugged with a sigh, "A hell of a lot better once I get out of here."

The Doctor smiled and nodded, "I'm sure you can't wait to get away from these four walls. Listen, I want to go over some of the x-rays we did after we patched you up. Unfortunately, I'm not bringing good news."

Bobby narrowed his eyes at the Doctor and could feel both Natalie and Charlotte flicking their gaze to him uncertainly. "Well I ain't getting any younger Doc."

The Doctor cleared his throat and held up an x-ray. "Well, with the injury you sustained and where it impacted you, it's caused unrepairable damage. I consulted a two colleagues of mine to confirm my own fears that by the looks of the x-rays, the positioning of the blade when it went into your body, I have fears that you might not walk again."

"What?" Charlotte said.

The Doctor turned to her with a sorry expression. "Many people, from similar injuries can recover and some do, but in this case, with the amount of damage Mr Singer has taken, we feel the it's unlikely he'll walk again."


	39. Christmas

**A/N:** It's Christmas! Have a small Christmas Special! Happy Holidays everyone, I hope you all make it through! This will just be the four hunters. Happy Holidays!

Christmas

"What is _that?"_ Natalie yelped as she held the cup as far away from her as possible.

Laughter answered her and it was Dean who plucked the cup from her hand with a grin, "Eggnog. Winchester special." He winked before he knocked back a gulp with a satisfied sigh.

"It's hideous," she hissed, blanching and wincing, "vile, disgusting. It should be burnt and buried."

Charlotte threw her head back with a laugh and stood to grab the wine bottle on the counter, "Here. Quit whining."

"It's a statement of fact!"

Sam passed her a glass and Natalie took them both with a huff and a glare. "It's not usually this strong."

"Yeah, blame Sam," Dean muttered, pointing at his younger brother with a grin. "He made it."

"But you're the one that spiked it."

"Who cares?" Charlotte added with a grin, "It still tastes damned good."

"Amen to that," Dean said, holding his cup up.

Natalie pulled a face and turned her attention to the TV in the motel room. It was doing an all day broadcast of Christmas shows and she poured herself a glass as she focused on A Christmas Carol. A sombre silence settled over everybody as they enjoyed the warmth of the small room and each others company.

The wind blew against the windows with a promise of chills down their spines. There was hardly the sound of a car engine or horn, adding to the quiet air that filled the room around the hunters. Sam and Natalie were sat on one bed, their legs brushing against one another whilst Dean and Charlotte were sat on the other bed, one of her legs draped over his knee and between his legs, one of his hands resting on the inside of her thigh.

"This is nice," Natalie mumbled, breaking the silence.

"It's a nice break from hunting," Sam confirmed with a nod, "then right back to facing death in the face."

Natalie slapped his arm with a pout, "Don't ruin the mood. I haven't had the chance to celebrate Christmas in years."

"Really?" Dean questioned, turning his attention to her, "I thought you would've done it every year. Seems like your kind of thing."

"Celebrating it alone doesn't seem right," she started with a shrug, "last time I enjoyed it at all was-" she stopped, took a breath and ducked her head, "it doesn't matter."

"Hey," Sam whispered, settling his hand on her knee with a soft smile, "it's alright, you don't have to say anything. I mean, the last time we celebrated it Dean was going to hell."

"How," Natalie asked, her eyes on Dean with a frown, "did you celebrate it at a time like that?"

Dean scoffed and held a hand up, "The same way we're doing now, by drinking and dealing with it."

Charlotte stretched and slapped a hand on Dean's knee as she pushed herself to her feet. "Either way, we're all alive for now. Let's just be happy about that. Can't ask for much more in our line of work." She made a line for the bowl of eggnog they'd made and left on the counter.

"Speaking of being happy," Dean muttered before he followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck with a hum and whispered, "I can think of something that would make both of us happy."

"Guys!" Sam called out, holding his hands up, "we're still here!"

"Does it have something to do with what's already happy in your pants?" Charlotte murmured with a grin.

Dean chuckled and let his hands slide to her hips, "It might do."

"Guys!" Natalie shouted, "I swear to god I will shoot you if you don't step away from each other."

Both hunters turned to look at her with a grin before they glanced at each other. "That's our cue to leave," Dean teased.

Charlotte nodded, "I guess so."

Dean grinned and bent down to lift Charlotte up and wrap her legs around his waist. "See you guys tomorrow," he called over his shoulder as he headed to the door.

"You two are disgusting!" Natalie shouted out.

"Think of it this way," Charlotte answered back as Dean grabbed the door handle, "we're giving you two the room for the night to do whatever you want. And we don't judge."

"Oh not a damn bit," Dean grinned as he opened the door. They stopped and stared at the parking lot. "It's snowing," Dean mumbled.

Natalie climbed to her feet and pushed Dean and Charlotte forward and out of the door so that she could see for herself. She grinned and wrapped her arms around herself as she felt the cold sweep over her. "I can't remember the last time I saw snow," she whispered.

"Really?" Sam said as he came to stand next to her, his eyes fixed on her. "Just what do you do every year?"

She shrugged, her eyes fixed on the sky, "Go home," she whispered.

"This is nice," Charlotte whispered before she tugged a little roughly on Dean's hair, dragging his attention back to her with wide eyes, "but we were going to be busy." She gave him a look and tugged a little more, making him grind his teeth together and muffle the small moan that wriggled itself into the back of his throat.

"Fuck yes," he whispered and he moved towards the adjoining motel room, slamming the door behind them.

Natalie stared at the door for a little longer before she sighed, "Do you think they ever made it past puberty?"

Sam chuckled, "Mentally? No."

She smiled warmly and looked up at him. He was leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on the falling snow and she shivered once. His eyes turned to her with a worried brown gaze and he straightened, "Come on. Let's get back inside."

"Nah," she whispered, moving to lean against his side and press herself against him, "not yet. Just a little longer. I like it here."

Sam hesitated a moment before he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her gently, "Me too," he murmured, "me too."


	40. 2009 May part 7

**A/N: **Hey guys! Sorry about last week. Thanks to the anon who left that message, seriously, it helped. Not much better but hey, I'm back. Also, shout out to **nerdsdoitbetter**! She's been reading the first instalment of this series and was kind enough to make a polyvore for Charlotte, which I am absolutely in love with - theres a link on my profile!

P.S – I've set a twitter just for my fanfic profile for updates, to answer questions, anything.

2009 – May

Part 7

Charlotte wrapped her arms around herself tightly as she stared at Bobby's back. Since he'd been told he'd never walk again he'd been silent. Natalie was the only one who dared to stay in the room and talk to him every now and then in the hopes that he would answer. This was bad, worse than anything else, and she was afraid for how it would affect him.

Sam laid a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed, pulling her gaze away from the room. Sam gave her a tight smile and mumbled, "We'll get through this. He'll pull through it."

She couldn't bring herself to smile and she only turned her head to nod into the room. "You sure about that Sammy?" She whispered and she looked back up at him, her mouth twisted into a frown as she took a deep breath, "Cause I'm not."

"We got to cheer him up," Dean's voice interrupted and both hunters turned to see Dean standing on Sam's other side, a brown envelope in his hand.

"What's that?" Charlotte asked, folding her arms tightly across herself.

Dean snapped his gaze from the room back to Charlotte and Sam and held the envelope up, "Went to radiology to get some glamour shots of what Cas did to us." Charlotte asked him what exactly Cas had done and Dean pulled out an x-ray image of somebody's ribs. He held it up to the light and Charlotte's eyebrows shot up. "Let's just say the Doctors are baffled."

"What the fuck _is_ that?" Charlotte mumbled.

"Whatever it is," Dean said with a shrug, "Cas did the same thing to Sam to 'stop the angels from being able to find us.'"

"What?" Charlotte whispered before Sam's phone started ringing. It turned out to be Cas on the other end of the line and a minute passed before the angel himself walked down the corridor towards them.

Charlotte listened on as Cas explained that the Winchesters were now hidden from heaven and from all angels. He suggested doing the same thing for Charlotte and Natalie, just in case. She nodded her head and felt something burn inside of her chest as Cas laid a hand on it before she gasped. Bobby interrupted any other conversation by ordering Cas to heal him. Cas went on to explain that after rebelling against heaven for Dean and Sam, to stop the apocalypse, he was cut off from heaven and his powers too. There was a lot of stuff he couldn't do and Charlotte ducked her head with a frown as Bobby told Cas to "Shove it up your ass."

She listened on as Cas told them that killing Lucifer was the worst plan possible, that it wasn't possible at all. She rolled her eyes at that. The Winchesters did the impossible. Get your soul back from hell? Done. Survive death? Done. Go toe to toe with angels and come out alive? Done. Break crossroad deals? Done. Kill the devil? She was sure there had to be a way.

"I'm going to find God."

She lifted her head at that and snorted. "Good luck with that."

"He is out there."

"Yeah, telling us to go fuck ourselves."

"She has a point man," Dean added, "I mean, look around you. The world is in the toilet. We are literally at the end of days here, and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of a coconut. All right?"

"Enough," Cas raised his voice as he glared from one hunter to the next. "This is not a theological issue. It's strategic. With God's help we can win."

"It's a pipe dream, Cas," Dean muttered.

Cas' eyes darkened as he narrowed his gaze on Dean and spoke in a low, dangerous voice. "I killed two angels this week. My _brothers_. I'm hunted. I rebelled. And I did it, all of it, for you, and you failed. You and your brother destroyed the world-" Charlotte glanced at Sam who ducked his eyes and shifted his feet. She turned her gaze back to Cas with her own glare as he finished off, "-and I lost everything, for nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself."

"Boo _fucking_ hoo," she commented. The angel snapped his eyes to her and she watched him take a step towards her, narrow his eyes even more and tilt his head. "Don't," she said, not even moving as he squared his shoulders. "Don't come crying to us about failure when it was _your brothers_ who wanted the end of the world to happen. We tried to stop it, they wanted it. Blame them you condescending, high horse riding dick bag." There was silence for several seconds as Charlotte and Cas stared at one another, each with their own glare, before Charlotte broke it with a mutter of, "Did you want something or did you come here to bitch and moan?"

"An amulet," Cas said, still not moving from his position.

"What kind of amulet?" Dean asked, his eyes darting from one person to another before he glanced at Sam with concern.

"Very rare, very powerful," Cas started and he finally turned away from Charlotte to look at Dean. "It burns hot in God's presence. It'll help me find him."

"A God EMF?" Sam asked sceptically.

Cas nodded and turned back to look at Charlotte. She frowned at him in confusion, "What? I don't have any amulets."

"It was given to you."

Charlotte's hand darted to her neck and her lips parted as she fumbled to pull free the necklace Dean had given her almost two years ago. She held it between her thumb, her eyes looking over it carefully before she looked back up, over Cas' shoulder and directly at Dean.

"No," he stated.

"Dean," Cas said as he turned to look at the hunter, "I need it."

Charlotte tightened her hand around it and shared a look with Dean. It was more than just an amulet. It was Dean's prized possession, other than Baby, and it had been a gift from Sam. It had been given to Charlotte to keep it safe, to show that he cared about her enough to let her keep it safe for him. He gave it to her and told her to keep it, and Charlotte's heart twisted at the idea of handing it over. It meant more to her, and Dean, than just a thing that was passed around. It was a sign of trust, a promise that there's nobody else in the world for the other, that it was them or nothing.

She could see the conflict in Dean's eyes, knew how hard it was for him to say it and she swallowed as she pulled it off. She looked at it in her palm with a deep sigh before she held it out to Cas. "Here," she mumbled.

"Don't lose it," Dean warned as Cas took it from Charlotte.

Cas promised that he would keep it safe before he disappeared. Bobby yelled out a short, "When you find God, tell him to send legs!"

Charlotte smiled at that before she ducked her head and turned away, "Who wants coffee?" She didn't give anyone chance to reply before she walked away. She stared at the coffee machine, watching the crappy plastic cup fill up slowly with coffee when she heard footsteps stop next to her. She didn't have to look up to know that it was Dean. "What?" she mumbled.

"He'll bring it back," Dean whispered and she felt him press a hand to the small of her back.

She leaned into the small touch with a smile and shook her head. "It's more than just an amulet," she whispered.

"I know."

Finally Charlotte looked up at him with a tight smile. "It's-" she started with a shrug, she opened her mouth, sighed and shook her head, "-call me an idiot, but that amulet, it's- it's like our _wedding_ ring."

Dean smiled warmly at her and grabbed her hand. He laced his fingers with hers and brought them up to his lips. "We'll kill him if he doesn't bring it back," he whispered against her knuckles.

She chuckled and nudged him with her elbow, "It just feels- wrong."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he muttered before he kissed her temple. "Come on, let's go make sure Bobby doesn't kill any of the Doctors."

"I'm not going to get in his way," she joked as she followed behind him with her own cup of coffee.

"Me neither, but we gotta make it look like we tried."

Charlotte chuckled and bumped her shoulder against Dean's as they walked back to Bobby's room. When they stopped in the doorway their smiles dropped from their faces. Natalie and Sam were watching with something akin to worried curiosity whilst Bobby spoke into his phone, "Rufus? You there? Ruf- Rufus?"

* * *

"Screw this," Charlotte muttered and she grabbed her jacket from the chair she'd dropped it onto.

Natalie stood up from the windowsill whilst Bobby looked up at her. "Where are you going?" Natalie asked.

"I need to do something," Charlotte said. "I'm stressed, and staying here just knowing that Dean and Sam are walking into God knows what? I'm gonna flip. I need to-"

"So go," Natalie interrupted. Charlotte slammed her mouth shut with a frown. Natalie sighed and sat down on the end of Bobby's bed. "A lot has happened and you've done a lot of nothing, just sitting and waiting. If I know you, you're just going to go looking for a fight to de-stress. So go, make sure those idiots come back in one piece."

Charlotte looked from Natalie to Bobby. He nodded his head towards the door, "You heard her, get."

"I'll call you as soon as I get there."

She left and Natalie waited until she was certain the other hunter was gone before she said, "I'm worried about her."

"I'm always worried about her," Bobby said, "those idiots too." There was a pause before he said, "You too by the way. You hang around those three too much for my liking."

Natalie smiled and turned to look at Bobby. She pulled her legs onto the bed and sat cross legged and shrugged her shoulder. "I can look after myself Bobby."

"You don't think I know that?"

Natalie smiled and glanced back at the doorway. That wasn't what she had in mind, but then she wasn't certain what it was exactly they were dealing with in terms of Charlotte's deal.

* * *

Charlotte frowned as she parked her car and climbed out. She stared at the Impala parked in front of her and wandered to the front of it to see the bridge, the only road in or out, broken. With a frown she grabbed her shotgun from the trunk of her car and started to make her own way into town.

"What happened here?" she mumbled to herself as she passed abandoned car after abandoned car. It looked as though everybody had just up and left without a word or notice. She carried on, careful of every corner she passed and every doorway in every shop. Something certainly wasn't right.

She stopped when she could hear the faint sound of yelling and she listened to try to get a bearing on the direction. After a few seconds she lifted her gun and carried on slowly, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

Charlotte walked past three buildings before somebody ran around the corner and stopped when they saw her. She snapped her gun up on instinct before she froze and frowned and slowly started to lower her gun. "Ellen?"

Ellen held her gun high and level with Charlotte's chest. "How do I know it's you?"

"What?" Charlotte mumbled, her gun by her side. She eyed Ellen's gun and carefully looked over the other woman. "Ellen, what's going on?"

There was a brief pause before Ellen took a step back, a glare in her features. "Don't move," she warned, cocking the gun.

"Ellen?"

"Drop the gun and come with me you bastard."

Charlotte stared at the other woman and took her own step back. "No. Not until you tell me-" Her body jerked back from the shotgun blast and she fell, flat on her back, onto the road. She groaned and lifted her head with a wince to see Ellen run off in the opposite direction. Slowly she lifted a hand and palmed gently at the ripped fabric on the front of her shirt. Rock Salt. "The hell is going on?" she groaned to herself as she slowly rolled over onto all fours. The shot wouldn't kill but it sure did hurt.

Charlotte rubbed a hand over her chest and hissed before she reached out for her gun and climbed back to her feet slowly with a wince. "Bastard? Really Ellen?" She rubbed over her chest once more before she started walking. "Alright," she mumbled to herself as she slowly started to walk in the direction Ellen had ran, "I'm a bastard. Why? And rock salt rounds? What? Ghosts? No, demons?" She stopped walking with a frown. "I'm not a demon," she whispered to herself and she closed her eyes with a deep frown. "What?"

She lifted her head and took a look around town. "Alright, demons. Let's, let's go with that. Where would you go to get away from demons?" She walked a little more, looking between every house for the one place that was sanctified grounds, one place where people would feel safe.

Somebody tackled her to the ground and her gun went flying. Charlotte grunted as she was turned around. She managed to get a glance at a guy before he punched her twice in the face. "You ain't so tough now you son of a bitch," he muttered victoriously. She got in another look and found herself under some guy, just a guy. Not a demon, not a monster, just a guy.

She growled, threw a punch and rolled so that was on top of him. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the floor as she sat on top of him. "Stop struggling," she warned as she tightened her hold on his wrists.

"I'm not afraid of you," the guy said before he spat in her face.

She screwed her eyes shut with a growl before she looked back down at him. "Listen buddy, I have no idea what's going on."

"That's funny, you're the ones that came into our town and started possessing people."

She narrowed her eyes at him and lessened her grip on his wrists slightly. "You think I'm a demon?"

He laughed and wriggled underneath her. "You think playing dumb's going to save you?"

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something when something heavy and hard hit her across the back of her head. She curled over the man and he chuckled as he rolled her off of him. She clutched a hand to her head with a groan and tried to force the fuzziness from her vision. There was the sound of a gun clicking and she could see enough through her hazy vision to see a gun pointed at her. Charlotte reacted and reached out, pushed the gun away from her and pushed herself to her feet. She charged the first guy, sending him stumbling back a few steps before she took three hard swings, sending him down to the ground. The first guy came back and slammed her into one of the abandoned cars and she swung her elbow back into his gut, lifted her other arm and twisted to slam her elbow into his face. He fell back and stumbled to the ground unconscious and she stared at them both, her vision clearing up, before she grabbed her gun and started to walk away.

"Next person to jump me, I swear to god," she growled to herself as she turned the corner. She stopped when she spotted a church and she hesitated before she walked forward. Cautiously she stepped inside, gun raised, and edged around ever door. "Hello?" she called out, and she winced at the ache in her chest that followed before she stepped further into the main room of the church. It was empty and she tightened her grip on her gun. "Anyone? Anybody feel like coming out, taking a shot at me? Anyone think I'm possessed speak up!"

"Don't move."

Charlotte froze at the sound of Ellen's voice and she slowly held her hands up, her gun up and out to her side. "Ellen, it's me."

"Shut up," Ellen said and Charlotte held still as she heard footsteps get closer. Ellen appeared on one side and Dean appeared on the other. The gun was pulled from her grasp and she flicked her eyes from one hunter to the other. "See what I mean?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'm not a demon."

"So how'd you get the black eyes?" Dean asked and she shot him a glare. "Take a seat."

"Dean," she said, "I am not a demon and I have yet to _see_ a demon in this town. Something's not right."

"I said take a seat."

Charlotte clamped her mouth shut, glared at him and slowly took a seat on one of the pews. She watched Dean and Ellen with narrowed eyes as they walked away a couple of steps and spoke quietly to one another. She watched them glance at her, mumble to one another, glance again and Dean shake his head with a sigh. "Get up," he said and she followed his orders. The least she could do was go along with all of this. He gestured with his sawed off to one of the doors and she walked ahead of them.

"Can we agree that I'm not a demon? I'd like to not get shot again."

"Just, shut up," Dean muttered. "Why'd you come to town anyway?"

"To make sure you two idiots didn't get yourselves killed."

"Left," Ellen said.

Charlotte turned and stopped. She felt the press of a gun into the small of her back and decided 'screw it' and turned around to face the other two hunters. "I have black eyes, but I don't see it. I'm still me and I haven't seen a single demon yet. I've been shot by you," she nodded to Ellen, "and jumped by two guys in the streets."

"That'll be the demon patrols," Ellen said.

"Really? They looked like humans to me. No black eyes, no super strength, none of that psychic crap. Human."

Ellen frowned and Charlotte watched her share a look with Dean. "They were some of the first to turn," Ellen said to Dean, "it's why nobody's supposed to go out alone."

"I didn't see any black eyes," Charlotte repeated and she dropped her arms. "Look, you guys know me. Hell if I was a demon why would I walk into this church just knowing you guys had to be here."

Dean and Ellen gave each other before Dean slowly lowered his gun. "No offence, but the black eyes are kind of creeping me out."

"I spoke to you this morning!"

There was silence for several seconds before Dean sighed and ran a hand over his face. He turned to Ellen and waved at Charlotte, "Why did Rufus call you? Was he following any omens?"

"He said something about the water," Ellen mumbled.

"Right," Dean said and he turned, grabbed Charlotte's arm and dragged her through the door and down a set of stairs. "For now, you just sit and be quiet. You look like a demon and everybody's going to think you are one."

"So you believe me?"

"Maybe," he muttered and he gave her a look before he knocked on the door. "It's us!"

The door opened and Charlotte heard the click of a gun and somebody yell out, "Oh my God, it's one of them."

"Why did you bring it here?"

"Alright listen up," Dean called out and he tugged on Charlotte's arm. She followed him over to the far side of the room as he dragged a chair with them. She took a seat and looked up at him with a raised brow. "Just, two minutes," he whispered before he turned back to the room. "She's going to help us figure out what's going on."

"You're going to interrogate it?" a guy with a shotgun asked.

"No," Dean said and he held a hand up to everyone, "and nobody is to talk to her. We need to figure out a few things first."

"What's to figure out," the same guy asked, "all we need to do is ask it what it's plan is."

"No," Dean said again. "_Nobody_ is going to do _anything_. Alright? Now, something happened to the water before this all started right? Padre? You got any ideas?"

It took a few seconds for him to stop staring at Charlotte before he snapped his eyes up to Dean. "It ran polluted all of a sudden. The next day, the demons came."

"Okay, anything else?"

The pastor hesitated but it was the guy with the shotgun who answered, his eyes still warily on Charlotte. "It's pretty random," he started, "but there was a shooting star. Real big, same night that the water turned, Wednesday."

Dean moved towards one of the bookshelves and Charlotte watched with curiosity. She could feel several pairs of eyes glaring at her, boring into her and she let them slide. She watched Dean grab a book and open it up on the table, flicking through the pages quickly before he stopped and said, "'And there fell a great star from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell upon the river, and the name of the star was Wormwood. And many men died.'"

"Revelation eight ten," the pastor said and Charlotte frowned. She made a mental note to ask Dean when he'd had chance to memorise the _Bible_. "Are you saying that this is about the apocalypse?"

"Sounds right," Charlotte added.

"These specific omens," Dean went on, casting her a quick glare, "they're prelude to what?"

"The Four Horsemen."

Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face. _The_ four horsemen? Great, the end of the world had really started.

"And which one rides the red horse?"

"War," Charlotte commented at the same time as the Pastor, earning a few looks from around the room.

"That cherry Mustang parked on Main. I mean, if War is a dude, maybe he's messing with our heads."

"Turning us on one another," Ellen added.

Dean nodded, "Exactly. You said Jo called you a black eyed bitch. They think we're demons, we think they're demons. What if there aren't any demons at all and we're just killing each other?"

Charlotte made a face and nodded her head slowly, "Cause instant panic across town, get everybody on edge and they do all the work for you."

"Wait," the Pastor said with a deep frown, "just back up. It's the apocalypse?"

"Sorry Padre," Dean muttered.

Charlotte stood up and stretched, "So am I free now? Can I stop being held hostage?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the guy with the shotgun said, aiming his weapon at her. "Don't move."

"Austin," Dean said, moving around the table and nearing the guy, "put the gun down."

Austin shook his head, "Just look at her! How can there be no demons and yet she has the black eyes of a demon!"

"Because somebody's screwing with your head," Charlotte said, holding her hands up. "Austin, listen to me, you know deep down that something is wrong with this town. You know that we're right on this, that nothing has made sense until now."

"You mean the apocalypse? War is a dude? That we've killed people and not demons? Nice try you bitch, but you guys manipulate us." He cocked his gun and Dean started forward. "Not any more-"

A wild series of knocks on the door attracted everybody's attention as somebody shouted, "Open up! It's Roger!" The Pastor moved to check the peephole before he opened the door and an older guy in a suit with a red tie and grey hair stumbled in and slammed the door behind him. "I saw them, they demons. They know we're trying to leave. They said they're going to pick us off one by one." His eyes landed on Charlotte and he stumbled back against the door. "Oh my God."

"We were just about to deal with her," Austin said, turning his attention to Charlotte.

Charlotte kept her gaze on Roger with a deep frown. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something just seemed off with him. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach about him, but she couldn't say why. She ignored the gun trained on her as she took a step forward, her eyes glued to him. It looked as though there was a haze surrounding him, as though his face wasn't quite human, as though there were small shifts in his features and she tilted her head, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. "You shouldn't point that thing at me," she whispered to Austin as she glared at Roger. The other man smirked at her and her eyes widened as he winked at her, his face shifting to something dark and twisted and she recoiled slightly.

"Wait, wait, wait," Dean called out, trying to calm everybody down.

"They're demons!" Roger shouted out, his face twisted into fear as he pointed at Ellen and Dean. "Look at their eyes!"

People shouted and gasped, gesturing and pointing to Dean and Ellen and Charlotte glared at Roger. She reached out, grabbed the end of Austin's shotgun and shoved it up and away from her chest. It went off and she yanked it out of his hands and slammed the butt of it into his face. "Run," she said, holding the gun out to everyone else the room. She followed Dean and Ellen out of the room, dropping the gun on the way.

Outside on the streets, once they were away from the main road she turned to Dean and Ellen. "Told you guys I wasn't a demon."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, waving a hand at her. "Now we just need to figure out how he's doing this."

"Ask Roger," she said, glancing around the corner to make sure they were safe.

"Roger?" Ellen echoed.

Charlotte nodded and looked at her, "Did you not see it?"

"See what?"

"His face," she said with a frown and she glanced from Dean to Ellen and back. "Something, dark, it wasn't human. It was, wrong, and well, kind of demonic."

"Now _you_ sound crazy," Ellen mumbled, giving Charlotte a wary look.

She stared at them with desperateness in her eyes, "No, I'm telling you it's him! He's not human. Are you telling me you didn't see the way his face changed?"

"No, we didn't," Dean started with narrowed eyes. A few seconds of silence passed before he opened his mouth with a frown, "Wait, wait, wait, do you think angels can see demons?"

Charlotte frowned at him and shook his head, trying to figure out what he was trying to get at. "Even if they could," Ellen said, "how does that help us? You know of any angels in town that can help us out?"

Dean pointed at Charlotte and she raised her brows as he said, "We got a half angel. You said it yourself, you didn't see any demons. Everyone looked normal to you except for Roger. Maybe War isn't affecting you cause of your angel thing."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and let out a groan, "Oh great, the one thing I'm the good at. Spotting demons. Lucky me."

"Hold up," Ellen said as she pinched her eyes shut, "you're half angel?"

"Yeah," Charlotte let out slowly, "my mom slept with an angel. He's kinda being a douche at the moment."

"Either way," Dean said, "we know it's him. Now we just need to find Rufus, Jo and Sam and convince them that there's no demons."

* * *

Charlotte picked at her sandwich, thinking back to what had happened back in the town. More people had died before Dean and Sam had been able to cut a ring off War's finger, stopping everybody from seeing black eyes everywhere. That town would never be the same again and she absently chewed on a fry as she hooked a foot underneath Dean's.

She'd had a quick chat with Jo and Ellen, even telling Rufus that Bobby told him to suck it before they parted ways.

But all of that was at the back of her mind. What was stuck was the fact that Sam had admitted that he was dangerous, that he didn't trust himself hunting, that he needed to take a step back from it otherwise he was going to hurt more people. Add into that the fact that Dean didn't trust Sam made her stomach twist with heartache when Sam said that he was going to go do his own thing, where he couldn't harm anybody.

Dean hadn't put up a fight and Charlotte had tried to convince Sam that he'd not given in, that he'd fought against whatever in him wanted to drink that blood. She'd told him that he was strong, and that he was good. But Dean had bit back that he spent more time worrying about Sam then the job and she'd felt her heart sink with certainty that Sam was leaving.

So she'd given him the keys to her car, told him that at least it would keep him going wherever he needed to go for however long he needed. Sam had refused and pushed the key back into her hand before he hugged her and left.

Since then her and Dean had been sat on opposite sides of a picnic table in silence, picking at food. Dean's hand reached out and grabbed hers and she finally looked up at him. She wanted to yell at him, slap him, punch him, tell him that he was wrong for letting Sam just go like that. But she held her tongue and let him slide his fingers between hers and squeeze. "You good?" he whispered.

"No," she muttered.

Dean nodded and he pulled his hand back. She watched him as he stood and walked over to the Impala. With a sigh she looked back down at her barely eaten fries and pushed them to one side. She couldn't stomach another bite and she rubbed a hand over her face.

She felt Dean behind her but didn't want to move. Then he reached down around her and pulled her hand away from her face. Charlotte sighed and kept her eyes closed, tired from thinking, from wishing and hoping. Then she felt something drop over her head and she opened her eyes and looked down at War's ring that had been tied onto a piece of string. Dean took a seat next to her and she looked up at him with a raised brow.

He shrugged. "You wanted a wedding ring."

"A horsemen's ring? That you cut off of his hand?"

He shrugged again, "What can I say I'm romantic."

She slapped his arm with a small smile and looked down at it again. "This should be somewhere safe, like one of Bobby's safe houses or in a lock box."

"I know," Dean said and she looked back up at him. He leaned forward with a soft smile and said, "I think it's going to be safe to leave it with you."

She sighed and leaned into his side. "I get this feeling that I should've been affected by him, that I should've been seeing demon's too."

"I think it's pretty weird too, but I'm not going to think too hard about that right now." She lifted her head to look back up at him. "I'm just happy that we stopped a horseman."

"Yeah, but there's three more."

He shrugged and grabbed her hand, "And we'll stop them too. Come on, let's go find somewhere to sleep and forget about today."

Charlotte let Dean pull her up and couldn't help but to finger the ring around her neck. It felt wrong to wear it, but it felt worse knowing that she should've been affected by War. She just wanted to know why she wasn't.


	41. 2009 May part 8

**A/N:** I want to apologise for being MIA last week. There was a funeral, family drama, consoling and stuff. Anyway, I promise that this is the last chapter for May 2009. I swear.

Next week's chapter might be delayed because I have to seriously think about it. In case you haven't realised, "The End" is coming up next, you know, end of the world, endverse. I really want to add that in, but I need to work a few things out, a few specific things so please bare with me whilst I work out the kinks. (fingers crossed)

2009 – May

Part 8

_Before_

Anna lifted her head when she heard the familiar rustle of feathers and she smiled at one of her friends who still had access to Heaven. "Did you get it?"

Mazil nodded his head and hesitated, his eyes scanning the room. "Somebody will realise it's gone."

"It isn't like anybody was using it." She took a step towards him and held her hand out. When he didn't hand it over she tilted her head slightly with a small frown. "Mazil?"

"It just-" he sighed and took a step closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, "do we really have to do this to him? He's one of our brothers."

Anna gave him a wide tight smile and nodded. "He used to be one of the most ruthless and feared angels in Heaven. He's lost his way and this, this will help him to remember who he is and where he came from. If we don't this then our plan falls apart. Castiel will be helping the Winchesters without a doubt and they will interfere sooner or later with our plan. Remiel will side with them if he knew _now_. That's why we need to do this."

Mazil stared at Anna for a few more seconds before he nodded his head and dug a hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small glass vial that shone a mix of bright white and blue that seemed to pulse in brightness. "This is it." He hesitated one more moment before he held it out to her.

Anna nodded her head with warmth, "Thank you." She moved back to the table and Mazil followed her. She set the vial down and started adding ingredients to a bowl that sat on top of a blood painted sigil. She murmured a spell and Mazil watched, still curious to what would happen.

He'd only heard about this kind of spell but had never seen or heard of it being used. It was a memory wiping spell of sorts, designed to wipe either certain events or people from ones memory. Angels used to use it when they patrolled the Earth to keep watch over the humans, to keep their human identities safe, until the humans stopped believing as much. There had been rumours of it being used on angels before, but he'd never heard of it being true.

Until now.

He watched carefully as Anna lit a match, closed her eyes and murmured something in Enochian before she dropped the match into the bowl. The contents caught fire and Mazil inched back slightly. Anna opened her eyes, grabbed the vial and chanted a little more before she tipped the contents of the vial into the bowl, turning the red flame into a bright blue fire that grew in size. After a few seconds it cut out, leaving the smell of burning in the air before Mazil felt himself get pushed back and slammed into the wall by an invisible force. He brought his hands up to shield his face and knew that the same force had shoved Anna back and against the wall. There was the sound of shattering glass before silence took over the room.

He took deep breaths for several seconds before he looked back at Anna. "Did it work?"

She smiled up at him and nodded. "It did."

There was another series of fluttering wings and both parties lifted their heads to see a group of five angels surrounding them. Two of them held both of their arms as the leader of the group stepped forward with a glare, "What have you done Anna?"

Another angel grabbed the empty vial and held it up for the leader to see. "It's empty."

The leader snapped his gaze to Anna and shook his head. He looked to Mazil and said, "How could you betray your brothers like this?" He shook his head and waved a hand, "Take them away." There was a rustle of feathers and Anna and Mazil, along with their two captors, were gone. "Find Remiel. We need to learn what damage has been done."

* * *

_After_

Natalie stared, and stared, and stared, her lips parted and her mouth struggling to form words. After a few silent moments she managed to call out, "What do you mean he's _gone_?"

Charlotte opened her mouth before she clamped her lips shut and shrugged. She turned her gaze towards the floor and mumbled, "He- he thinks that with everything, with Ruby, with freeing Lucifer, that if he-"

"I don't _care_!"

Charlotte snapped her eyes up to see Natalie rush to grab her coat. "Nat-"

"You should've stopped him."

"I tried."

"Then you should've tried harder," Natalie growled as she started towards the door.

Charlotte reached out and clamped her hand around her elbow and pulled her back. "You don't think I tried?" she mumbled quietly. "He's like a brother to me, of course I tried. I tried every damn trick in the book except tying him to Dean's car." She sighed as she watched Natalie pinch her eyes shut and duck her head. "He's wanted out for a long time and this, this is the final straw for him."

Natalie scoffed after a moment and shook her head as she chucked her jacket into the nearest chair. "He's such a bastard."

Charlotte's shoulders sagged with a small smile, "I know."

There was silence for a few moments before Bobby said, "We've all agreed, Sam's an idiot. Now do one of you girls wanna help me out of here and home?"

Natalie turned to Bobby with a tight smile and nodded. "Sure thing Bobby, I'll go get the paperwork."

Charlotte watched her leave and sighed before she rubbed a hand over her face. "Hey." She lifted her head and looked back over to Bobby who had finally changed into a set of his own clothes in his wheelchair. "You mind getting your head out of the gutter and giving Matthew a call? See if he can do something Cas couldn't?"

She nodded her head and pulled her phone out. She took a deep breath before she dialled his number and waited, running a hand over her face again. Bobby was wheelchair bound, Sam had up and left, the apocalypse was happening and the four horsemen were coming and Cas had lost his powers. She didn't know where to start with the growing mess and- her phone beeped and went to Matthew's answer phone. She frowned and tried again. Nothing. She tried once more and finally managed to get through. "Matt, finally, listen-"

"Charlotte?" Matthew stated uncertainly.

"Yeah," she muttered with a frown, "are you okay? You sound weird?"

"How do I know you?"

Charlotte jerked her head up with a deep frown. "Excuse me?"

"How do I know you?"

She shared a look with Bobby and raised her brows. "Okay, is this some kind of joke?"

"Why would I joke about this?"

Bobby gave her a curious look and she shook her head with a sigh, "Are you really telling me you don't know who I am? Charlotte Dixon? Daughter of Helen Dixon? You know, the woman you banged?"

There was silence for a few seconds before he said calmly, "I didn't _bang_ anybody," and the line went dead.

Charlotte kept her phone pressed to her ear for a few seconds before she moved it away from her and stared at it with narrowed eyes. "The fuck?" she whispered as she slowly lowered her phone.

"You want to fill me in?" Bobby asked.

Charlotte sighed as she looked at him with a shrug, "I don't know. Apparently he doesn't remember me or my mum. Apparently he didn't bang anyone. He sounds different and I swear if the angels have done something to him, again, I'm gonna kill them."

Bobby frowned at her. "Why would the angels do something to him?"

"You know what, I've no idea why they do anything." She nodded her head to the door and moved forward to grab Bobby's bag. "Come on, let's just, go, figure this out later."


	42. 2009 June

2009 – June

_Oklahoma – Garber_

Sam set about putting the dirty glasses into the wash and putting the clean ones back onto the shelves. It had been a few weeks since he'd backed out of the hunting world and found a place, as a bartender named Keith, to lay low. There were nights where he scrolled through his phone, pausing over Dean's name, or Charlotte's, to call them. But most of the time he stared at Natalie's name, mentally apologising and begging for forgiveness from her.

He paused, his hand settled on a wine glass he'd just set upside down on one of the top shelves. He missed them, all of them, Bobby too. But he couldn't go back, not if he wanted to stay sane, not if he wanted to guarantee that he did no more harm to the world. The last thing he wanted to do was add fuel to the apocalypse and here, in the middle of nowhere, he couldn't do that.

Add into that the fact that his mind was constantly working with worry about what was to come. The news had talked about some strange weather, freak hailstorms turning into lightning storms within the same day. That was demonic activity and Sam had called Bobby to send a hunter or two. But that didn't stop him from wondering about what it was that was happening or who would have to pick up the mess that Sam didn't want to touch. He felt guilty as hell, but it was better for him to do nothing than try something.

He shook his head and checked the stock levels for the crisps and snacks they had to offer when he heard the door to the bar go. He glanced over to the other side of the bar to see that he was the only one around, the other bartender busy picking up empty glasses from around the bar, and turned his attention to the bar top and froze.

Natalie took a seat, a glare on her face as she folded her arms onto the bar top. "A glass of red wine please."

Sam swallowed and nodded his head, turning to grab a glass and a bottle. He turned back to her, glass in hand and set it down as he cleared his throat. He glanced around the room and made sure they were alone again before he whispered, "How did you find me?"

"I'm a Hunter, not an idiot, Sam." She took a sip of her drink and set the glass to one side as she leaned forward to whisper back, "My question is why did you feel like you could just drop off the world without so much or a word? Not even a phone call? A text? Nobody's heard anything from you-"

"It's better that way."

"Is it?"

Sam shook his head and stood back up and away from the bar. "Yes, it is." He ducked his gaze for a moment before he gave her one last look and said, "Please Nat, just go."

She let out a small huff and turned on her seat, "I'm here on a hunt. I might remember to say goodbye once I'm done."

Sam frowned and stepped back towards the bar, "What? You mean the demons?"

She shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly and pulled out a couple of bills from the pocket of her jeans. "Somebody's got to take care of them." She dropped the money onto the bar and gave Sam one last look and said, "Keep the change," before she turned and left.

Sam stared after her, his lips parted in worry. He closed his mouth and swallowed nervously. If anything happened to her he'd never forgive himself.

* * *

Charlotte tapped her finger against her knee as she waited, sat on the trunk of her car. She stared at the empty space in front of her, waiting, begging Castiel to show up. "Come on, Cas," she whispered, turning her head to look up at the ceiling of the warehouse she was in. "Just five minutes, please."

Sam was somewhere doing something. Dean was somewhere hunting something. Natalie had left to hunt on her own. Bobby was busy with the hunting world and Charlotte couldn't bring herself to think about hunting whilst Matthew didn't remember her. It kept her up, flicking through Bobby's books for any kind of answers and praying to every angel she'd ever encountered for help.

Thirty minutes had already passed and she started to wonder how much longer she was going to sit around, waiting for nothing. The angels hated her, she knew that, but there had been hope that somebody would listen and help. She had betted on Castiel being the only one willing to help and when an hour passed she cursed to herself and picked herself up off her car.

She ran a hand over her face and climbed into the drivers seat. She reached forward and started to turn the keys in the engine before she paused and leaned back in her seat. Charlotte turned her head to the passenger seat and stared at the Trickster with a frown.

He sighed and said, "What part of stop the apocalypse did you not get?"

She narrowed her eyes and glared darkly at him, "What part of help me out, did you not get?"

He arched one brow and smirked around the lollipop he sucked on. "I thought you Hunters were supposed to be resourceful?"

She growled and curled her hands into fists. "Don't give me a reason to punch you in the face."

He rolled his eyes and propped his feet up onto the dashboard with a cheeky tone, "You're so _fiesty_. I like it."

She raised her brows at him before she held her hands up with a sigh. "What did you want?"

"_You_ wanted _me_," he said before he stuck his lollipop back into his mouth.

"Really?" After a moment it hit and she sighed, closing her eyes. "Alright, somebody answered my call, great. I take it you have a way of summoning angels right?"

He opened his mouth before he clamped it shut and frowned at her. "Excuse me?"

"Matthew, or Remiel, he's forgotten who I am and he was with _Anna_."

"Soooo," he started, "you want to summon him and... what? Just ask him what happened? Chances are he doesn't know and last that I _heard _Anna's been taken into Angel custody. You're not getting anywhere near her either."

She gave him a look and mumbled, "So why'd you bother turning up?"

He shrugged a shoulder and slouched further into his seat, "Your car is comfy."

"Thanks, now get out."

"Come on," he said with a small pout, "I want to ride along, listen to the radio and-" she kept her gaze on him and he slowly stopped talking before he sighed. "Maybe, just maybe, I wanted to help."

"Really? And I should believe you because?"

He gave her a puppy dog look and said, "Because I'm cute and irresistable?" She continued to stare at him before he sighed and shook his head, "Really? Nothing? I could kill you right here, and nobody would know. I could do unimaginable things and you're just going to give me that look?" Charlotte didn't say anything and he eventually sighed, again and sat up in his seat. "Alright, how about a little warning. Next time you want to pray to the angels, don't. They can find you like that and Zachariah's probably on his way here. So, I'm here with a peace offering."

She stared at him with a frown. "Peace offering?"

"You want the angels to stop ruining your life right? Well, they can't ruin it when they don't know where you are."

Before she could say anything he laid a hand on her shoulder. There was a brief flash of pain before he let go with a wide smile. "You are now invisible to angels. Now, I suggest you go before they do show up."

And he was gone before she could say anything else. She raised a hand to her chest and pulled a face as she rubbed at it with a deep frown. "I still hate you," she whispered before she turned the engine on and sped out of the warehouse.

* * *

Sam's mind couldn't stop thinking about Natalie and the three hunters who had paid him a surprise visit. He felt like something was going to go wrong and with every passing hour without a word or sign from them he felt his throat close up a little more. He tried to calm his nerves, telling himself that it was four hunters versus whatever they walked into.

Four hunters on one job was always a good start. Even if it was a bad sign to how bad the job was.

Lindsey, the bartender, had been nosy for weeks with who Sam was and where he was from and after today, after hearing the group of hunters call him Sam, he'd had more trouble shaking her off. Now, he'd been left alone for close to an hour and he'd put it down to her having to do some paperwork and giving him some space.

He focused on cleaning the last few glasses and wiping down the tables when he heard the door go. "We're closed!" he called out as he put chairs and tables back into their right places. After a moment he didn't hear the door go again and he turned to see who it was and stopped. He saw Tim, one of the hunters, standing there and said, "Hey."

"Something you want to tell me Sam?" Tim said, a hint of venom in his voice.

Sam frowned and tilted his head slightly, "What? No."

"You sure about that?" Tim took a step towards him and Sam could feel that something wasn't right.

Sam watched him carefully and shook his head, "I- I don't know- Are you okay? Where's Reggie and Steve?"

"Oh, Steve's good, he's uh, his guts are lying roadside outside the Hawley Five and Dime."

Sam swallowed and his mind went straight to Natalie. He prayed that she made it out okay and said, "I'm sorry, wha-"

"Sorry don't cut it, Sam."

He frowned and swallowed, wary of the way Tim was looking at him. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth." When Sam didn't say anything he went on, "Okay, fine. Let me give you some of my own then. We go into town, link up with this Natalie chick, catch ourselves a demon, we get jumped by ten more. Steve bought it."

"I'm sorry," Sam said, some relief washing through him at the fact that Tim hadn't said that Natalie was dead.

"Saying it twice don't make it so, Sam. You see, this demon, he uh, he told us things. Crazy things, things about you Sam." He steeled himself and told Tim that demons lied. "Yeah. I'm gonna ask you one last time. The truth. Now." The door went again and Sam looked over to see Reggie drag Lindsey through the door, a knife to her neck.

"What's going on?" she asked, her eyes wide with fear and Sam's heart sank.

"Just take it easy okay?" Sam said, his hands held up in front of him. "Put the knife down." Sam watched Reggie slowly place the knife on the bar but keep a firm hold on Lindsey, the threat of harming her still hanging in the air. "It's true," he went on, "What the demons said, it's all true."

"Keep going," Tim said.

Sam frowned and shook his head, "Why? You gonna hate me any less? Am I gonna hate myself any less? What do you want?"

"I want to hear you say it."

"I did it," he said with finality, "I started the apocalypse." He looked from one hunter to the next, his hands still held up and asked carefully, "What happened to Natalie?"

"The hot brunette?" He shrugged with a tiny smile, "Lost track of her as we were running for our lives." Sam's heart sank and he watched Tim hold up a test tube filled with red blood. "This is for you. If that demon was right, then it's right down the hatch son."

"You're insane," Sam said, taking an instinctive step back.

Tim laughed as Reggie shoved Lindsey closer towards the bar, his hand close to the knife on the bartop. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna drink this, Hulk out, and you're gonna waste every one of the demon scum that killed my best friend." Reggie pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed Lindsey to the bar. He picked up his knife again and smirked to Sam as Tim said, "Or she dies."

The door swung open again and there was the sound of a shotgun being cocked. All eyes turned to the door to see Natalie standing there, her gun trained on Reggie's chest. She gave the room a quick once over before she shot him clean in the chest and trained her gun onto Tim. Her face was covered in dirt and blood, her left brow bleeding badly and her jeans torn in several places. There was a piece of gauze wrapped around her left arm and her knuckles were bloodied and bruised. She took a step into the room and kept the gun trained on Tim as she hissed out, "Get the hell out of my face before I change these bullets for actual shotgun rounds."

Reggie groaned, letting everybody know that he was alive and Tim started towards Reggie. "Don't try anything," Natalie warned, her eyes narrowed into a death glare as she moved closer to Sam.

Tim picked Reggie up and pushed him towards the door. "Don't think we won't come back."

"Don't think I won't be here," Sam warned before the two hunters left. Natalie finally lowered her gun and collapsed onto the nearest chair with a groan and a hand on her ribs. Sam knelt down next to her and cupped her cheek with a worried frown. "Hey, are you okay? What the hell happened out there?"

She leaned into his hand with a small smile and Sam tried to ignore the feeling of blood on his hand as she said, "We were jumped by a group of demons. Steve went down, there was no chance we could save him. In order to save himself and Reggie, Tim shot me in the arm. I had to fight my way out but, I made it."

"Shit," Sam murmured before he took her gun and laid it on the nearest table. "We'll go back to my motel room, get you cleaned up."

Natalie nodded her head to Sam's shoulder and whispered, "Don't forget her."

Sam looked back to Lindsey still handcuffed to the bar in fear and nodded his head. "My car's outside," he said, pulling his car keys out of his pocket. "Wait for me, I'll, I'll sort this out."

"Sure," she whispered and Sam helped her to her feet before Natalie slowly limped outside.

Sam sighed once she was gone and turned his attention to Lindsey with a sorry look, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head and her hand, "Just get me out of these and go."

"Lindsey."

She shook her head again and avoided looking at him, "I don't want to know you any more."

Sam clamped his mouth shut and nodded his head. It was a few minutes before he was able to find a paper clip and free her then he tried to say goodbye before he left the bar with a heavy sigh. When he made it to his car he found Natalie lying across the back seats, her eyes closed and her good arm curled up underneath her head. He smiled warmly down at her and noticed his keys in the ignition. He shook his head and climbed in and drove to his motel room. He woke her up and helped her inside and to his bed where she sat on the edge, hunched over with a groan. Sam was back into hunter mode as he took her jacket off and pushed the sleeve of her shirt up to see how bad the gunshot wound was.

"So you went toe to toe with what, ten demons and made it out alive?"

She smiled sleepily at him and nodded, "I'm good at my job."

He let out a small chuckle and nodded, "Terrifying too. You shot a guy without a word."

She snorted, "He had it coming. I should have shot Tim in the leg with my pistol to be honest. If I see him again..."

"I think you might have scared him."

"Good."

A comfortable silence overcame them and Sam worked silently on Natalie's wounds, once after the other. Her leg was a few scratches that just needed a few plasters to help stop the wounds bleeding. A few painkillers drowned with alcohol helped ease the pain in her ribs a little and her arm was wrapped up.

Sam held one of her hands in his as he carefully wiped at her knuckles with a damp cloth. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand before he switched it for her other hand and repeated the process. "I'm sorry," she said, making Sam flick his gaze up to meet hers. "For trying to tell you you were wrong. If you wanted out it's your decision. And, I'm sorry for looking for you."

"Don't be," Sam said as he continued with her knuckles. He gave them one last look before he cupped her chin gently and tilted her head up to get a good look at the dried blood on her face. He worked from her brow, earning a wince as he wiped the blood away. "I should be apologising for just disappearing like that. I said goodbye to Dean and Charlotte and not you. I should've told you myself that I was planning on leaving. I- I was a coward."

"Sam-"

He shook his head and started to wipe the blood away from the corner of her eye. "Let me. I was a coward running away without explaining to you why. I was a coward for not telling you myself and for expecting Charlotte or Dean to tell you. I was a coward for avoiding you because-" he paused, his hand hovering over her cheek, his eyes focused on that patch of blood. He could feel her staring up at him and he slowly met her gaze and finished, "because I didn't want to see the look you would give me. I didn't want to see you hurt because of me. Because I'm scared that if I get too close, you'll end up hurt or killed or-" he shook his head and looked away, withdrawing his hands from her face and into his lap. "I have this feeling that people around me, people close to me, are always going to get hurt. I couldn't bare to have somebody else's live on my conscious."

He felt a set of hands on his knees and froze as he felt Natalie press her lips to his. After a few seconds she pulled away and blinked up at him with a soft smile. "Sam, for once will you stop thinking about the future. It's scary, I know, the possibility that something tragic may happen. But I'm a Hunter. I'm a good hunter."

"Hunters have short life spans."

She tilted her head with a shrug, "And? Dean and Charlotte have managed it."

Sam snorted with a tight smile. "Yeah, except they've both died a few times."

"Semantics," she whispered before she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him back down for another kiss. He closed his eyes for this one and kissed her back gently. When they parted she whispered, "We choose our own future. Not God, not angels, not demons, us. We choose what happens. So if I want to kiss you, no matter how much of an ass you've been, I'm going to kiss you. I didn't have to come here, you didn't have to offer to clean me up. But you did, and I'm here. If you want me to leave in the morning, let you have your life the way you want, I'll accept that, but can I get that kiss I was promised so long ago first?"

Sam laughed and nodded as he drew her back in for a deeper, rougher kiss. "We'll choose our future in the morning?"

"Exactly," she said, licking into his mouth with her tongue as she shifted closer to him.


	43. 2014 August

**A/N: **To make this chapter and the next simple, 2009!Dean is just: Dean. 2014!Dean is: _Dean_. Sorry it's taken me a while to get this out, as I said, 2014 is going to be different to canon and I've had to change it quite a bit to make what I want to happen/the history between 2009-2014 AU to happen and make sense. There won't be a chapter tomorrow, but hopefully I'll be able to get one up next week on time! Enjoy.

2014 – August 1st

_Camp Chitaqua_

Dean watched from the fence line to Camp Chitaqua as a couple of guards patrolled past. He took note of the rifles they held close to their chest and frowned as he peered through the darkness for anybody else. He inched further along the fence as the two men started to walk out of sight when he spotted a familiar sight.

"Oh Baby, no."

Zachariah had flung him five years into the future. The Croatoan virus had taken over the world. Bobby was dead. And now his Baby lay trashed and wrecked in a ditch just a few yards away from him. He flicked his eyes back to the area, wary of anybody else and worked his way further along the fence until he found an opening. He squeezed through and had to stop at the sound of a yell. He ducked down next to a cluster of trees and peered through the shadows. There was a large bang from somewhere and the sound of breaking glass and Dean wanted to find out what the hell was going on. He heard voices yelling and feet running and followed their direction with his eyes, but it was too dark to see anything and he inched forward towards his car.

"Oh, no, Baby. What did they do to you?"

He laid his hands on the broken window of the driver's side and looked inside at the ruined upholstery. He had no idea what could make him neglect his car in such a way. There was another yell and Dean turned his head to try to see what was going on when something hit into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

When he eventually woke up he lifted his head and felt his arm hanging above his head. He tried to pull it and he heard a familiar clink of metal on metal. Dean snapped his head up and shook his wrist a little more to hear the sound of the handcuffs clinking against a metal ladder and he sat up a little straighter and looked around the room. It was a small wooden cabin with a table in the centre of the room. The door opposite him had a window in it and he could see that it was still night out, which meant that he hadn't been out for long. There was a gun resting on the table and when Dean looked around the rest of the room he noted pieces of paper stuck to one wall and a few empty bottles and cans scattered around the room. "What?" he mumbled to himself as he looked for anything that would help him to escape.

His head snapped towards the door when he heard a very familiar voice yell, "You're lucky you're still alive! I see that kind of stuff again I won't help you!"

Dean stared at the door, his eyes wide as footsteps sounded outside. "That," he started slowly, "is that-"

The door was wrenched open and Dean stared up at himself, dressed in a dark forest green jacket and a pistol in one hand. The other him stared down at him with narrowed eyes and slammed the door. Dean watched this other him stalk across the room, put his pistol onto the table and sit down, his eyes fixed on him, his hand still hovering over his gun.

"The hell?" Dean asked eventually.

"I should be asking that question, don't you think? In fact," the other him leaned forward in his seat, picked up the gun from the table and pointed it in Dean's direction, one elbow on his knee and his brows knitted into a glare, "why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you here and now?"

Dean stared up at himself and held a hand up, knowing full well that this other him would pull the trigger. He managed a small smirk as he muttered, "Because you'd only be hurting yourself?"

"Very funny," _Dean_ said before he frowned and sat back up, placing the gun back onto the table. "Something that is funny, is that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it?"

Dean couldn't help but to check one his pockets before he looked back up at _Dean_ with a small sigh. "Zachariah."

There was a beat before _Dean _stood up with a small, "Come again?"

"I'm _you_ from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future."

"Where is he? I want to talk to him?"

"I don't know."

"Oh," _Dean_ said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "you don't know?"

"No, I don't!" Dean sighed and shook his head. "Look, I just want to get back to my own fucking year okay?"

_Dean_ studied Dean for a before he moved over to him and crouched down in front of him. Dean recoiled slightly, concerned for what this future him would do. A lot of stuff had happened, that much was obvious and he waited until _Dean _finally said, "Okay. If you're me, then tell me something only I would know."

Dean stared at himself for a few seconds, his mind trying to tick over the things that nobody knew, not even Charlotte or Sam. There was a lot stuff that wouldn't pass the kind of test this other him was asking and it took almost a full minute to finally mind a memory that was his and his alone. He smirked and looked up at himself. "Rhonda Hurley. We were uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink, and satiny. And you know what?" He nodded, his smirk a little wider and said, "We kind of liked it."

There was a few seconds of _Dean _staring at him before he let the corners of his mouth twitch up with a tiny smile, "Touché."

_Dean_ opened his mouth to carry on when the door to the cabin burst open again. Dean looked past his own shoulders to see Cas standing there, a beard on his face and his whole demeanour worn and hippy. "Cas?" he muttered.

The angel in question raised his brows, one hand still on the door handle and his mouth open. After a moment he stepped into the room and closed the door. _Dean_ stood up and Dean watched Cas turn to look down at him with a smile. "Well this is interesting."

"Did you want something Cas?"

"So this is what you had to 'attend' to." Cas looked up at _Dean _with a knowing look and a huge ass grin. "And here I thought it was-"

"Cas," _Dean_ said, his tone telling Dean that he wasn't in the mood for whatever Cas was talking about. "Did you want something _important_?"

Dean didn't miss the slight deflation in Cas' shoulders and the way his smile faltered before he rolled his eyes, "People are arguing. Again. About..." he looked down at Dean with raised brows before he looked back at _Dean_, "- you know. _That_."

"Tell 'em they know where I stand."

"Yeah but now that Johnson almost _died_-"

"That's his own fault! We have rules for that kind of thing! If he wants to screw the rules then fine! Let himself get killed!"

Cas licked his lips and sighed, "Dean."

Dean could feel _something_ in the air, something that told him this situation was normal yet tense and dangerous. He really wanted to know what the hell happened for everything to be this screwed up. "I've got to go. Make sure he doesn't leave." _Dean _grabbed his gun and started to gather a couple of other things from around the room.

Cas followed him with his eyes, turning to face Dean as he walked towards the door, "Can I-"

_Dean_ turned and pointed a finger at Cas with a very firm, "Don't even think about it." He cast one more look to Dean before he pointed at Cas with a frown and left.

Dean waited until the door was closed before he looked up at Cas and shifted in his position. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Cas sighed before he grabbed a chair and turned the back towards Dean. He straddled it and crossed his arms over the back of it as he studied Dean with a small smirk. "So what year are you from?"

"2009," Dean muttered as he looked over this different Cas. Something was definitely different about him, definitely wrong in some way. "Listen, I need you to," he pulled his arm forward and stopped. "Can you get me out of these?"

Cas pursed his lips, smirk still on his lips and shrugged one shoulder. "Nope. Rules are rules Dean."

"Oh come on, what am I going to do?"

"What do _I_ want to do?" Cas rebuked.

"What?"

"What?"

Dean stared in confusion up at Cas for a moment longer before he shook his head. "Whatever, look, just get me home okay? Strap on your angel wings and-"

Cas chuckled and ducked his head. "I wish I could just uh- "strap on my wings", but I'm sorry, no dice."

Something clicked in his head to what was wrong with this picture of Cas, to why he seemed so off and he blurted out, "Are you stoned?"

"Uh, generally, yeah."

Dean stopped a little at that and said, "What happened to you?"

"Life."

There was a yell from outside and Dean watched Cas slowly rise from the chair and turn towards the door. He opened it and stepped outside, turning his head towards the sound. "Luke?" Cas called out.

"Brian's heading in, caught Chuck in the face and-"

"I'll be right there!"

Dean raised a brow and tried to sit up a little more, "What's going on?"

"Recklessness," Cas muttered, "don't go anywhere."

Dean shook his handcuffed hand with a scoff, "Like I can?"

Cas left and Dean was left on his own, wondering how the hell the world seemed to turn itself upside down so badly. He fumbled across the wooden floor with his free hand, searching for anything to get himself free as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. It was the Croatoan virus. Where was Sam? Charlotte? Natalie? Why was Cas stoned? Who gave Cas the drugs to get stoned? Since when was he a complete dick?

He found a nail head poking out from one of the floorboards and concentrated on tugging this free. He was going to find out what the hell was going on, one way or another.


	44. 2014 August part 2

**A/N: Lexi: **I had looked into it before giving him his name, and I did read up about that. I really did consider changing a hell of a lot more than what I was already changing based upon that, but in the end I wanted to stick to the canon side that there were four archangels. I mean, he is a special case anyway right? *wink wink*

**JayWinchester: **Oh I already know what I'm doing for that. (laughs maniacally into the distance) That was one thing I always wanted to include considering Charlotte wasn't there for "_The Monster at the End of This Book"._

To everyone else, thank you for having patience with me. I'm really excited to see how you respond to this chapter.

I'm updating early as I'm in work all day tomorrow. Enjoy.

2014 – August 2nd

Part 2

_Camp Chitaqua_

Dean cracked the door open and peered out across the brightening morning. He made a guess that it was some time in the middle of the morning and he mentally counted day two that Zach had left him here. There was some commotion going on, voices shouting from different places in the camp and what sounded like an argument was taking place somewhere towards his right.

Dean looked for Cas. He was the only person he'd seen, besides himself, that he knew and knew about his situation, or didn't question it too much. He guessed that he had a little time to scope things out with his other self doing something, which he hoped took several hours.

He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Gingerly he took the few steps away from the cabin and managed to get a look through the darkness to what was going on. People seemed congregated close to another cabin and he frowned as he spotted Cas in the middle of it all.

"Dean." He whirled round to see a short, hot brunette look up at him with a raised brow and her arms folded over her chest. Her lips were quirked into a smirk as she nodded towards the cabin Cas was at, "Are you going to sort that out?"

"I- yes," he fumbled, gesturing a thumb over his shoulder, "I was just-"

"Is it going to take long?"

He raised his brows and pursed his lips, trying to figure out where this conversation was going. Her eyes were doing a dance over his body and he didn't like the way his body reacted to that. _Charlotte's going to kill me_. "I hope not," he mumbled, praying that it was something the future him would say.

"Good," she stated, uncrossing her arms and letting a flirtatious smile take over her face. "You promised me a round two and I was hoping it was _before_ your mission." She started to breeze past him and Dean could only stare, his mind stuck on her words. "You know where I sleep," she whispered before she walked away.

Dean stared after her, his mouth open in shock as he tried to catch up to what was going on. He lifted a hand and pointed it in the woman's direction before he pointed at himself with a frown. He shook his head and ducked his head as he focused on the cabin that Cas now entered. That was something he didn't want to think about. Ever. They're in the middle of an apocalypse and apparently _he's_ thinking about sex? With the end of the world around the corner? Dean was up for going out with a bang and hey, why not try to have some fun before it all ended right? But he was married and-

He froze, his gaze focused on nothing and his mind working over that little fact. He was married. He wouldn't sleep with another woman whilst he was married. There'd be no reason to unless... "No," he whispered to himself and he took a step back as a wave of cold realisation flooded through him. That would be the only reason he'd openly offer to sleep with somebody else, if she was gone, if-

"What did Jane want?"

"Huh?" he muttered absently as he jerked his head up to see another woman eyeing him up. This time she wasn't alone and his eyes drifted to Chuck who held one hand to his face. "Chuck?" Chuck was alive, and well, besides the blood that covered the bottom half of his face.

"Hey Dean," he greeted nasally.

The other woman looked in the direction that Jane had left and looked back towards Dean, "Well?"

"Huh?" he followed her gaze before he shrugged his shoulder, "Nothing." He looked back towards Chuck and frowned, "What happened?"

"Brian," the woman growled, casting a glare from where she had come from. Dean followed her gaze and saw a guy holding a hand to his own face and one arm around his waist. "Idiot decided to get revenge for Mike's death. Said that if you weren't going to deal with it then somebody had to."

Dean frowned, completely lost to what they were talking about. "What?" he blurted before he could stop himself.

Both parties gave him a look and he regretted his inability to keep his mouth shut. "Charlotte?" Chuck prompted before he winced and pinched his nose a little harder. "Ow."

"Come on Chuck," she muttered, tugging him away.

"Right, Risa," he murmured, "just, one," he carried on with a grunt before he stepped up towards Dean and whispered, "Risa's mad at you."

Dean couldn't help but to look over at Risa before he muttered back, "Why?"

"Jane." Dean turned to look at Chuck, who raised his brows with a knowing smirk before he stepped away. "Oh yeah," Chuck went on with a grin, "careful."

"Right," Dean drew out before he pointed towards his original destination. He'd now ran into three people who knew him in some way, personal or not, and he figured that it didn't matter now if anybody else saw him. As long as he wasn't sleeping with them _as well_. "I'll go, sort it out."

Risa waved a hand at Dean and pointed a thumb over her shoulder, "Cas is handling it. You need to worry about what we're going to do with the supplies that we're running out of."

Dean hesitated in just walking away. He had no idea what the future him would do in this situation. He really wanted to see Charlotte if she really was alive, he had questions. The first of which was what the hell happened between them for him to sleep with two women at the same time in the same camp whilst she's still around? "The supplies," he echoed, trying to get a grip on what was expected of him.

That only earned him two looks of confusion and Chuck asked, "Dude are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Look, I'll sort it."

"Before or after everybody goes stir crazy?" Risa added with a raised brow. "I get you've got some sort of secret mission to go on, but people-"

"I said I'll sort it!" he repeated. If his short interaction with himself was anything to go by then he was a dick, so being a dick it was. "Take care of Chuck and let me worry about it."

Risa rolled her eyes before she tugged on Chuck's arm. Dean was glad that they left without so much as another word and he ran a hand over his face. He'd gotten himself into some kind of shitstorm and he didn't want to hang around too much longer to find out how badly he'd screwed himself over.

He turned back towards the cabin and knew that there were answers there. Other questions started rolling through his mind: Where was Sam? Natalie? What had happened to them? To Charlotte? What about Lucifer? And the Croatoan virus, how had that gotten so out of hand? He shook his head and finally managed to get a close up look at the cabin everybody had been circling just moments before. The windows were blacked out and when he made it to the front he nodded to the two armed guards who stepped out of the way for him. "Thanks," he muttered as he grabbed the handle on the door. He didn't miss the glaring red devil's trap painted across the door and worried as to what exactly he was walking into.

It took him a few moments to work up the courage to open the door and the first thing he noted was the candles and the blacked out windows. Every part of every wall was covered in some kind of sigil to ward out demons and angels, each window had salt in front of it and Dean's eyes finally landed on the centre of the room.

A large devil's trap covered the floor. In the center of the circle were two iron brackets which were both attached to thick iron chains. The chains crept up the side of the chair to the two thick iron cuffs that were in full use. "Dean," Cas muttered, standing up from the box he'd been sat on in front of the chair, "you shouldn't be here."

"Charlotte?"

The woman in question peered up at him with a smirk and one brow raised. She tilted her chin up and easily looked him over with a look that made Dean shiver with unease. There was something dark about that look and he froze on the spot. "I always did wonder what two of you would be like," she said with a grin on her face. Her brow, lips and cheek were cut and there was some heavy bruising around one eye. "I guess now I get to find out."

"What?" he started, his heart racing. This couldn't be what happens, this wasn't right.

"What year are you from?" she asked with a small smile on her face.

She was alive, and chained. He looked around the room again and shook his head as he felt Cas try to push him back towards the door. "No."

She shrugged a shoulder, her lips curling into a smirk and said, "Why don't you come find out?" and she winked.

Dean turned his attention to Cas who promptly shoved Dean through the door and closed it with a glare to the two guards. They wasted no time in leaving and Dean was quick to burst, "When? How?"

Cas rolled his head back and sighed before he looked back at Dean. He licked his lips and waited a moment before he said, "Two years ago, saving _my_ life from demons, she was caught." Dean stared at Cas, what he'd just seen still sinking into his mind. "As far as we know she's been," he stumbled for words before he nodded back to the door, "_this_ for about a year."

"Char," Dean whispered, and he couldn't help but to take a step back. This. This is what Zach wanted to show him, this is what would happen if he didn't say yes to Michael. Charlotte would- Cas would become a stoner, Bobby would die, he'd become a dick, Sam- "Where's Sam? Natalie? What happened to them?"

Cas pointed at Dean with a tight smile, "Yeah, it's easy to forget that you don't know things. Sam died in Detroit, when this all started. Natalie was with Bobby when they were ambushed and-"

Dean scoffed and shook his head. "No," he muttered, "no."

"Dean," Cas said and he stepped forward to lay a hand on Dean's shoulder, "take a deep breath. This isn't your time, remember?"

Dean stared into Cas' eyes, something soft and earnest in them and he was thankful that there was something good coming out of this, Cas wasn't such an uptight dick. But it wasn't the Cas he knew, it wasn't the Cas he was used to, it wasn't right. "Cas-" he didn't know what to say, couldn't think about what he could say.

Cas squeezed Dean's shoulder and he felt a little comfort in the small gesture. "Let's go, sit down, inside, where no-one can see you because you're due back from a mission any time soon. Let's not make things worse."

Dean let himself be led away from the cabin by Cas and couldn't help but to look over his shoulder to get one last look at the place. They passed the two guards who retook their position in front of the door and Dean felt Cas nudge his shoulder. "Come on buddy," Cas muttered, "let's sit down, just us, and talk."

The sound of an engine cut through whatever Dean was about to say next and they stopped to see a jeep pull up into the front of the camp. _Dean_ jumped out along with somebody else and Dean watched himself grab a can of beer and toss it to his friend. _Dean_ took a can for himself and Dean watched the other soldier open the can and take a drink and he saw it, the flicker of _Dean's_ wrist to his thigh where he held a pistol and he released himself from Cas' grip. "Dean, wait!"

"Hey. Hey! Watch out!" He managed to get close but not close enough as he watched himself put a bullet between the guys eyes.

"Damn it," _Dean _cursed and Dean just stared at himself, at the dead soldier before he finally glanced around the camp to see others looking between them. "I'm not gonna lie to you," _Dean _started, "Me and him-" Dean held his hands up as _Dean_ waved the gun between them both, "It's a pretty messed up situation we got going. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do."

Dean was grabbed by _Dean _and shoved back to the first cabin this had all started in and he silently prayed that Zach would just send him home right now.


	45. 2014 August part 3

**A/N: **Before I answer people's questions, I just want to say that I will be leaving some things open in terms of end!verse. It's purely intentional and I also don't want to completely ruin all of the surprises for what happened in the future. (I am considering writing an off-shoot that focuses on this timeline as an AU so answering everything would ruin the potential for this. (Lemme know if you'd want to see this))

**JayWinchester, wolfenergy17 **and **Lexi**_**, **_I hope some of your questions are answered in this chapter.

**Lexi:** Changes? The only thing I can think of is that I said I would just tweak "Kiddy Corral" chapters and repost them, to update the writing style. Plot wise, everything is the same.

**Elle: **To your first question, answering that would ruin whatever surprises I have later on in chapters. All I can say is that there is some interesting stuff planned. And it won't be a walk in the park. Sorry. Jo and Nat, is an idea I will play around with. I promise. Your final question, in my head when the Winchester's home burnt down originally, they lost everything personal and had to start again, including anything that was Mary's. Because of this, the amulet had become the thing Dean cherished most because it came from his brother and the closest thing he had that meant the world to him. (If that makes sense)

**indigofrog: **I want to hug you for your comment. It means so much!

I feel like I need a Q and A thing going on here. I do love the questions, honestly and I am so happy to say hello to the new readers out there. Please, enjoy the third installment of end!verse.

2014 – August 2nd

Part 3

_Camp Chitaqua_

The door slammed behind them and Dean couldn't stop himself as he turned to face _Dean_ and exploded, "The hell is wrong with you? Since when did we shoot people in cold blood? And Charlotte? You want to explain to me what the hell that is all about?"

"We were ambushed on our way out by some Croats. Yeager was infected."

"How do you know?" Dean spat, his mind still whirling on what he'd just seen himself do.

"Cause after years of this, I know. I started seeing symptoms about half an hour ago. Wasn't gonna be long before he flipped."

"So you just shoot him? In front of everyone?"

"It's 2014! Plugging some Croat is commonplace. Seeing my _clone_ however, _that _would've freaked them out a hell of a lot more."

Dean stared at himself for several seconds before he scoffed. "Oh, I'm freaking people out? What about Charlotte? You care to explain that? And why the hell you've got her chained and pinned with every kind of sigil we know?"

"She's a demon!"

Dean blinked, his lips parted in shock as he tried to think of something to say. He'd been worried that something like that had happened, but he had hoped it was something else. "W-what?" he whispered.

_Dean_ glared at him and opened his mouth to say something when the door burst open. Cas stepped into the room and raised a brow, "Am I interrupting something? I hope n-"

"Not now Cas," _Dean_ sighed.

"Can we go back to Charlotte being a fucking _demon_? Either of you want to tell me how that happened?"

Dean looked between Cas and _Dean_ as they looked at one another before _Dean_ sighed and shrugged, "She died. Came back as a demon."

"And you've got her locked up because-?"

"Because," _Dean_ started_, _taking a step towards Dean with a dangerous snarl to his lips, _"_because she has information."

"Infor-" Dean stalled, his eyes going wide as he shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, didn't want to. Charlotte was a demon. A demon being locked away because she had information. "_Information_? Jesus Christ what is wrong with _you_?!"

"What's wrong with me?" _Dean _asked, taking another step towards Dean. "This isn't 2009, it's not your time. It's _mine_. You don't make the decisions, I do!"

"It's Charlotte!"

_Dean _stepped into Dean's space so that they were toe and toe and shouted, "You don't think I know that? You don't think it's killing me knowing she's in the next cabin over a twisted bitch right now?" Dean gritted his teeth and refused to step back. He held _Dean's_ gaze and tried to think of something to say. _Dean _beat him to it, "Lucifer took Ruby's knife and we had no way to kill her. What was I supposed to do, exorcise her and send her back to hell? We tried that once and she came back." Dean opened his mouth before he closed it again, failing to come up with something to say.

_Dean _stepped back and shook his head before he turned away from Dean and stormed towards the door. "Keep an eye on him," he growled out to Cas before he left with a slam of the door.

After a moment of silence Cas sighed and turned to Dean with a small shrug, "You know, you only got like this the first time she came back."

Dean turned to Cas with a wary look, "What?"

Cas rolled his eyes and pulled out a chair from the table. He sat down, his feet crossed on top of the table and folded his arms over his chest. "When she died, you flipped. It took a week to get through to you. Then she came back as a demon and," he shrugged and Dean slowly sank down into one of the other chairs, his eyes fixed on Cas as he spoke, "well, it took you a while but you kicked her ass." Cas frowned and pursed his lips, "That was a strange experience by the way. Demons still have the memories of being human, so with everything that happened here, up here," he pointed to his own head and smirked, "well," after a moment he wiped his face clear and cleared his throat, "it was interesting. But you exorcised her."

Dean frowned at Cas as he tried to get a timeline going in his head. "When, when did this-"

"2012 she was caught by a bunch of demons saving my life." Dean's eyes widened at that. Cas hadn't mentioned that before. "Obviously at some point she died, we just, don't know when. But last year, around April-ish, she resurfaced. At first, we hoped she'd escaped or something. But she came back to camp, killed half the people and then we sent her back to hell. Six months later she comes back, we ambushed her, captured her and well," he shrugged and nodded his head towards the door behind him. "There she is."

Dean stared at the door. It seemed hard to believe, seemed impossible that she could become a demon in under a year. The more he thought about it the more he remembered his own time back in the pit, about how he'd broken after three months and started torturing people. He didn't want to think about how far she had gone and he stood up. There were things that Cas and _Dean_ didn't know, there had to be a reason for her to try to kill an entire camp full of people trying to survive.

He shook his head and stood up. "I want to talk to her."

Cas laughed and shook his head, "No. Not happening."

Dean glared at him and started towards the door. Cas was quick on his feet and stood up in front of Dean, planting both hands on his chest and pushing him back. "Cas, move."

"Erm, no," Cas said with a sense that no matter what Dean said, he wasn't this Cas' Dean. He gave Dean a half assed smile and refused to back away as his eyes started to slide down Dean's body. Dean shivered a little and watched Cas look back up at him with a raised brow, "You look different. And not just, five years different, but different different."

Dean frowned. "What does that even mean?"

Cas held a finger up with a smirk and said, "Uncorrupted different."

Dean stared at Cas confused. He had no idea what the hell he was talking about, didn't want to know and he sighed before he shoved one of Cas' shoulders and started towards the door again. "Whatever."

Cas grabbed Dean's arm and Dean stopped in his tracks to a sigh from Cas, "She's not your wife."

"Yes, she is."

"No, _your_ wife is back in 2009. Alive, un-demon-ey. Still the same as you remember her. Still fun." Dean opened his mouth before he snapped it shut with a frown. He stared at Cas who held a light smirk as he carried on. "I know it takes her a while to loosen up and warm up to me, but she's fun. I can see that _and_, I know she makes you funner to be around, loosens up whatever stick you have shoved up your ass." And he winked.

Dean stared, unsure of what to say and how to react. Was he? Was- His mouth failed to form words and eventually Dean managed to utter, "What are you talking about?"

Cas seemed to realise he had been talking and he raised his brows with a small, "Hmm?" After a moment he pursed his lips and shook his head, "Nothing. I mean, it might not happen anyway. Real shame too."

"Cas," Dean started.

"Dean," Cas echoed.

Dean clamped his mouth shut as he realised he wasn't going to be getting a serious out of Cas. "Fuck this," he whispered as he pushed past Cas.

He heard Cas sigh and could feel the eye roll the other man made before Cas was by his side, a bored expression on his face. "You know," Cas went on, "she's going to be different. Say things, try to manipulate you and-"

"I know how demons work Cas."

Dean ignored the creeped out feeling in his gut from feeling the entire camp stare at him as he passed them by. It wasn't everyday you saw a double of your leader, he got that, but that didn't mean they could just stare. _'Whatever happened to getting over it?'_

Cas stood in front of Dean again, making him stop in his tracks. They were yards away from the cabin and Dean forced his gaze from the two guards who gave him wary looks to Cas. "This is different. She knows you, personally, from the way you drive to what you like in the bedroom. She's going to get under your skin and say things you don't want to hear."

"It's Charlotte," Dean whispered.

Cas stared at him for a moment before he held his hands up and stepped to one side, "Well, I tried."

Dean rolled his eyes and carried on towards the cabin. The two guards refused to move this time and Dean looked from one to the other with a raised brow. "Really?"

"You're not allowed in there," one of them said.

"Yeah? Says who?"

"You," the guard said with a smirk.

Dean stared at him before he sighed. The door opened then and Dean glanced at it to see himself standing there, a blank expression on his face. "You want to talk to her?"

Dean glanced past _Dean's_ shoulders and nodded. "Yeah."

"Fine," _Dean_ said, and he turned to look back at Charlotte who smirked. "Behave."

"Make me," she mocked before _Dean _left again. "So," she called out and Dean slowly stepped into the room, feeling Cas behind him, "tell me Dean, what year are you from?"

The door closed behind him and Dean glanced back to see Cas lean against the door with a shrug and cross his arms over his chest. "2009," Dean mumbled before he turned back to Charlotte. He took hesitant steps closer, finally able to get a closer look at the chains and spotted demon traps engraved on the chains themselves.

"I don't bite, Dean, unless you ask me to," Charlotte sang with a smirk.


	46. 2014 August part 4

**A/N: **Hey guys! Another Tuesday another chapter. Enjoy Dean, Charlotte and Cas. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Again, if people would like to read an AU based on end!verse and these characters, let me know.Also, I'm sorry, but not sorry for what happens at the end of this chapter. Enjoy.

**Lexi**: I don't want to spoil anything but something like that **may** have happened.

**Indigofrog:** Sorry buddy, she's a demon.

**JayWinchester:** I was wondering if anybody would pick up on that. More will come and please, keep thinking those things.

**Elle**: Okay, I've had people question this but here's my reasoning. They're both hunters. They're both aware that they were going to have short life spans and that any hunt could be their last. Dean has commitment issues, he'd choose Sam over _anybody_ else and Charlotte understands this. She's aware that Dean's always fancied himself a "player" and this adds to my next point. Because of her Mother dying when she was 4 and her Dad dying when she was 12, she'd gotten used to the idea that nobody's around forever. I also think it left her with a sense that all good things come to an end, and for Hunter's it's a bloody messy end, so why cause anybody to go through what she has? It was kind of her not wanting to commit to something that might not last and being afraid that people close to her would die bloody, just like her parents. (Her Mum's death, later on, she learnt was to do with her and she blamed herself) It's hard to explain and I'm kind of hoping that you understand what I'm trying to say. Also, it's fine with the language mix up. I understand what you mean :)

**Sarahmichellegellerfan1, wolfenergy17 **and** Brandibuckeye**: Thank you guys for being here. You guys have been here for a long time and I've never said a proper thank you. So, Thank You.

2014 – August 2nd

Part 4

_Camp Chitaqua_

Dean stared, his heart racing in his chest. He felt frozen to the spot as he eyed the smirk on Charlotte's face. There was something sinister and truthful in her words and he was afraid of what she really meant by that. He flicked his gaze to her eyes and realised that they were nothing like he was used to. He looked away and slowly started to pace to one side. He could feel Charlotte watch him and he tried to figure out what exactly he wanted to say.

He stopped and turned to face her, a frown on his face, "You're a demon," he started and he watched Charlotte roll her eyes.

"Ten points for Captain obvious. Come on, _Dean_," she sang with a smirk, "get to the point."

Dean held her gaze for a few seconds before he nodded his head. "Alright, fine. From what I know, it takes years for a person to become a demon. What happened? You get captured and that's it? You give up? You-"

He stopped as Charlotte ducked her head, her shoulders shaking with her chuckles. "Ooh," she lifted her head with a wide grin, "I'm a little twisted Dean, sure. But the real secret? I've been a little twisted for a _long_ time now."

"Oh really now? Like when?"

Charlotte raised her brows with a smirk and let out a low laugh before she shifted in her seat. "2009, that's _after_ you went to hell right? Well, those few months you were gone were... _interesting_." She licked her lips and flicked her gaze to Cas before she fixed her eyes on Dean again. He didn't like the gleeful look that entered her eyes. It made him shiver at how excited she got as she carried on. "Let's just say that you weren't the only one that experimented with causing others pain. I mean, I tried to stick to demons, honest, but you know, I didn't care at that point and sometimes low life, shitty, handsy, vulgar dicks were just the same."

Dean had to turn away, his stomach turning at that comment. She was lying right? She was a demon and lying. Dean still wasn't one hundred percent certain what had happened to Charlotte whilst he'd been down in the pits. They'd never gotten around to completely having that conversation. All that she had told him about it was that she regretted things, wanted to forget things from those months. Things had always gotten in the way of their conversation, Sam and the demon blood, Charlotte being kidnapped by angels, Matthew having his grace taken, Anna. He flicked his eyes to Cas who seemed bored as he looked over Charlotte. "Is she lying?" Dean mumbled quietly.

Cas glanced at Dean with raised brows, his arms still folded over his chest before he looked at Charlotte. He studied her for a few moments before he looked back at Dean and shrugged. "Honestly? I haven't been able to figure that one out yet."

Dean felt his stomach drop with the very idea that she was possibly telling the truth. He slowly worked up the courage to face her again and she gave another laugh before she said, "Don't look at me like that. We're not that different from one another."

Dean furrowed his brows slightly before he scoffed. "We are _nothing_ alike."

Charlotte raised her brow at that and tilted her head to one side. "Why? Because I'm a demon?" Her smile twisted into a smug grin as she went on, "You've been to hell, you've done things and those things? They stuck with you. Even now, in 2009 you remember every. Single. Detail. And I just know that there are days where you think to yourself, "How easy it would be to just give in, to not hold back."" Now she scoffed and shook her head. "Oh, and whilst we at it, you can admit that you like it rougher than normal, just ask Cas." She blinked innocently up at him and Dean stared at her for a moment before he turned to stare at Cas who blinked from Charlotte to Dean with raised brows.

"What?"

Dean turned to face him and asked, "What is she talking about?"

"Yeah Cas, tell him exactly what I'm talking about."

Dean spun and jabbed a finger in Charlotte's direction, "Shut up." He watched Charlotte clamp her mouth shut with a smirk before he faced Cas again. "Talk to me Cas."

The ex-angel pushed himself away from the wall and stuck his hands in his pockets with an amused smile, "Do you really need me to spell that out to you?"

Dean felt as though he'd been slapped in the face and he stared at Cas for a moment before he shook his head, "What is this? Some kind of joke?"

Behind him Charlotte laughed. "Dean, Dean, Dean, so narrow minded. Such tiny thoughts!"

"Oh go to hell," Dean cursed before he stormed towards the door, slamming it open with the sound of Charlotte laughing behind him. They had to be lying, this had to be some kind of twisted future that Zach cooked up to convince Dean to say yes to being Michael's bitch. Had to be.

"Dean!"

Dean turned and came face to face with Cas. "What?" he yelled. "What Cas?"

Cas held his hands up with a sigh and said, "You need some time."

"No, what I need, is to get back to my own fucking time."

Cas nodded his head with a hum in agreement before he let his hands drop and turned around, "There's a meeting tonight and you want you to be there. Just don't leave the camp."

Dean blinked at the sudden change and frowned, "Wait, you're just, going to leave me to wander around?"

Cas turned with a shrug, "Despite what everybody thinks, I'm not your babysitter, Dean." And he turned again and left, leaving Dean on his own in the middle of a camp in a time he knew nothing about.

Dean spent the next few hours just making note of the size of the camp, the borders and the way the patrols worked. He spent a lot of the time just thinking about everything he'd learnt and what that had meant: it was just him and Cas with Chuck and a bunch of strangers. And apparently he was working his way through everybody. That idea made him grimace and he wondered how exactly he'd gotten back to the point of trying to sleep with anybody. A lot had changed and his mind worked his way back to Cas, back to how he'd changed so much from the stuck up angel he knew him to be. He thought about Charlotte, about her words and how he needed to know the truth, needed to ask her when he made it back to his own time. He really hoped that it was the demon part of her trying to screw with his mind.

Eventually the sun set and Dean made his way back to _Dean's _cabin. The voices stopped as soon as he opened the door and he peered inside to see Cas and _Dean_ give him a look before they stepped away from one another. Cas took a seat at the table, his feet crossed on top of it whilst _Dean_ grabbed three glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "Oh, please, carry on. Don't let me interrupt anything."

_Dean _gave him a look before he poured three measures of whiskey and brought the glasses over to the table. "Cas was telling me about your conversation. Not what you were expecting?"

Dean levelled a look with himself, glanced at Cas who reached out and took his own glass as if nothing was happening, and slowly Dean grabbed a glass fro himself. "You can say that."

The door opened again, cutting off anything else that anyone was going to say and Dean watched Chuck and Risa enter. Chuck's nose still looked a little red and swollen but better than before. Risa glared at him, then _Dean_ and settled on standing on the other side of the room, her arms folded. Dean downed the drink in his hand, set the glass down and choose to grab a chair and sit on it at the top of the room, giving him a view of everyone and everything, including the two other guys that entered the room and took a stance next to Chuck.

_Dean _moved to a drawer and Dean lifted his head in curiosity before _Dean_ threw the Colt onto the table. He raised his brows and looked up to _Dean, _his mouth open, but Risa beat him to it, "So that's it? That's the Colt?"

"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it," _Dean _said, matter of fact.

"Great," Risa went on, "but do we _find_ Lucifer?"

_Dean_ gave her a look before he looked around the cabin. "We know where he is. We don't have to find him. The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage."

"And you believe a demon? Just like that?"

"Oh trust me, he wasn't lying."

"And you know this how?"

Cas was the one to interrupt this team with almost a tone of sarcasm in his truth, "Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth."

Dean frowned at Cas before he looked up at himself with a scoff. "Torture? Oh, so we're – torturing again." _Dean_ turned his head to him with a glare and Dean held his hands up. "No that's good, classy."

Cas chuckled and Dean watched himself glare at Cas who looked up with a shrug. "What? I like past you."

_Dean _rolled his eyes before he turned and grabbed a map of the nearest town. He rolled it out and Dean stood up to get a better look as _Dean_ pointed to an area that was marked in the middle of a red area. "Lucifer is here. Now, I know the block and I know this building."

"Oh good," Cas said, leaning forward to peer at the map, "right in the middle of a hot zone."

"Crawling with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?"

Dean flicked his eyes between Cas and _Dean_, noting the strange casualness between the banter. There was something more beneath the surface of their voices, something... _teasing_. Dean shook his head and tried to distract himself from those kind of thoughts as he listened to Cas say, "Are you saying uh- walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and Croats, and we shoot the devil?"

"Yes."

Cas let out a breath and looked up at _Dean_ with a small smirk, "Okay, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe."

"Are you coming?" _Dean _asked and Dean looked up at this future version of himself, hearing a small plea in that simple sentence.

He glanced back to Cas who sighed and nodded his head. "Of course," Cas waved an arm in Dean's direction, "but why is he? I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone right."

"He's coming," _Dean _said, not even giving Dean a glance.

"Okay, well uh, I'll get the grunts moving."

"We're loaded and on the road by midnight."

"All righty."

Dean swallowed, nervous to why exactly he would do something stupid. Cas was right, if something happened, then Dean would be dead long before this future even had a chance to start.

"Just, one question," Risa started, halting everybody's movements. Dean stared up at her, wondering what was causing the frown on her face. "How do we know the Colt actually works? I mean, all we have is your word and stories. No proof."

"That's a good point," one of the soldiers chimed in.

"Nah it works," Chuck added.

"Well how are we supposed to know?" the same guy responded.

Silence descended on the room and Dean could see the muscles working in _Dean's_ jaw. Everybody's eyes were on him and Dean couldn't even think for himself what to say.

Eventually _Dean _spoke, his voice low and deathly level, "You want proof?" Slowly he fixed his gaze on Risa before he slowly looked from one person to the next. "You want to know that it works? That it kills _anything_? Fine. I'll give you proof." He grabbed the gun and Dean frowned, wondering what was happening. "Stay here!" he called out and Dean watched the tenseness in _Dean's _shoulders disappear through the door. He flicked his eyes to Cas to see him alternating between looking bored and concerned.

"The hell is he doing?" Risa asked, nudging Cas' shoulder.

Cas let out a breath and pursed his lips. He seemed to pull a face as he thought about his words before he carefully said, "He's- burying, the past."

Dean frowned and ducked his head as he tried to think about how _Dean_ could prove right now that the Colt worked. It meant that he would need something that wasn't killed by silver, beheading, fire, gun shots, stabbings...

"What?" Chuck asked.

Cas sighed and stood up. "I'll check on him."

The door closed again and Dean briefly looked up as he tried to connect Cas' words. The people in the room started to talk amongst themselves and Dean tried to drown their words out with his thoughts. 'Burying the past.' The only past that he had, technically, was Cas. Everybody else was dea- Dean's eyes widened and his lips parted. "No," he whispered to himself and he shook his head before he stared at the door. "No, no, no," he whispered, his eyes starting to water as he brushed past everyone and pushed the door open. He jumped down the steps and started running. "Don't," he muttered, feeling his heart race in his chest.

A single gun shot rang out.

It stopped Dean in his tracks, nine feet from the cabin he just knew _Dean_ and Cas were in. He felt his chest tighten as it sunk in exactly what had happened, what this future version of him had done. Tears started to slide down his cheeks and he felt his blood run cold as his knees hit the ground. His vision blurred and he felt his bottom lip tremble. "Char," he choked out.


	47. 2014 August part 5

**A/N:** Hey guys, so, your responses have been interesting and really made me smile. All I can say, is that it gets better. *wink wink *

I'm also going to start work on that AU for you guys, after these series of chapters are done in this story. I'll let you guys know when I'll post it.I'm also going to create a tumblr for this series as one place to get all the information you could ever want, including character bios and links to side stories that don't follow the story. Answered questions at the bottom of the chapter. Enjoy.

**bjq** a big thank you to you as well for reading the story!

2014 – August 2nd

Part 5

_Camp Chitaqua_

Dean didn't know how long he sat there, his eyes watery and glazed, fixed on the cabin in front of him. The two guards outside of it were whispering to one another, their heads turning occasionally towards the door to the cabin. He had to bite his teeth together hard to stop himself from completely breaking down there and then.

He finally tilted his head up when the door opened and he stared at it to see Cas poke his head out and mutter something to the guards before he disappeared back inside. The guards started away from the cabin and in Dean's direction. He felt them cast curious looks at him before he turned his head towards them with a watery glare. "What?" he snapped, his voice full of venomous threat.

They hurried off and Dean felt his heart beat with anger. How? How the hell could he-? How could Cas let him? And for what? To prove something to somebody else? As an example? He felt his breathing stutter and he had to force himself to breathe through his nose as he took deep, shaky breaths. Screw himself.

He climbed to his feet, one destination set in mind. He had no idea what he would end up walking into, what sight he would. His stomach turned as he imagined every bloody scenario possible, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind with one other one taking over. He was going to kill himself. Or beat the crap out of him. Something. Anything that let Dean take out his anger at himself.

As he rushed up the few steps the door opened and it was _Dean_ that stepped out first, his eyes not focused on anything but the ground beneath his feet. Dean grabbed the front of his shirt, taking some joy in the surprise that crossed his own features, before he pulled him to one side and slammed him into the cabin wall. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Cas staring at them, at him, but he didn't care as he brought his fist back and swung, connecting with _Dean_'s cheek. He swung two more times before he fisted his hands in _Dean's_ jacket and got up in his face to yell, "The fuck is wrong with you? The world's gone to shit and you think that _this_, is fine? It's Charlotte? _Charlotte._ You know, our _wife_? We've lost Sam, Nat and Bobby so... what? What's one more? You son of a bitch!" He screwed his face up and couldn't help the slight shake to his words as he whispered, "You son of a bitch."

He watched his future self just stand there, his eyes guilty, and his cheek nice and bloodied. He didn't say anything, just stared back at Dean with the expression that just told him that he was guilty, that somehow Dean was right. Dean scoffed and shoved his hands against his chest and stepped back, scraping a hand through his hair. "You asshole," he growled.

"Dean," Cas finally interjected in a low whisper, his hand on Dean's arm.

Dean turned his glare to Cas and shook his head. "And you just stood there and let him. Thanks for having my back Cas. Thanks for being _family_."

"You think you know everything?" _Dean_ whispered and Dean turned his gaze back onto him. _Dean _finally looked at him with a hint of anger as he shook his head. "You have no idea what this future has been like." Dean was shoved back by both of _Dean's _hands and he stumbled off the small wooden patio.

"Dean," Cas said again, this time his gaze focused on _Dean_ and Dean's eyes dropped to Cas' hands, finally noticing the Colt in the ex-angels hands and he frowned.

"What?" _Dean _snapped. "He has no clue, about anything, that we've gone through, about what's happened." Dean felt _Dean's _eyes on his again and he lifted his gaze to meet his. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to do that?" _Dean_ waved towards the cabin door, "How hard it was to say goodbye, to know that she would never come back, how hard it was to watch-" _Dean _choked and Dean saw the first flash of sorrow, pity, loss and pain flicker through this version of himself. _Dean _pressed a hand to his mouth and slowly shook his head. "-to _hear-" _he stopped again and Dean slowly felt his gaze turning to Cas, who found the floor interesting at that point. "How about this, get off your high horse and deal. This is my time, not yours." There was a moment of silence that was broken by _Dean_ jumping down towards Dean. "You can help give her the funeral she deserves, or keep your damn mouth shut." And _Dean_ shoved Dean's shoulder, hard, as he passed him by.

Dean's eyes were fixed on Cas and he found the angel looking at him with a blank expression. For once, Dean couldn't tell what was going through Cas' mind and he shook his head, his lips parted. "Cas?" he whispered, his eyes flicking down to the gun in his hand.

Cas followed Dean's gaze before he held the gun up slightly to look at it himself. He sighed and took a seat on the wooden patio that ran around the entire cabin so that his feet were on the floor and put his elbows on his knees. He laid the gun on the floor next to him and looked up at Dean with a sigh. "Do you really think you could go through with that?" Dean opened his mouth for a moment before Cas gave a small laugh and shook his head, "You two were married," he paused for a moment before he frowned with a faint smile, "and annoying together." There was another break of silence before Cas gave a tiny laugh and licked his lips. "Man you two, were _so_ annoying. So annoying. But it worked."

Dean slowly walked over to Cas and sat down next to him, keeping his mouth shut as he let Cas go on.

"You two fit, surprisingly well. Then..." Cas tilted his head to one side before he turned his head to look at Dean, "well, this happened. But you had hope. After we captured her, do you know what you did?" Dean just stared at Cas, who held a fond smile to his face as he went on, "You spent every night, for the first month, asking her for it to be wrong, for her to be fine. You hoped, that she was human still, that there was some _humanity _left inside of her."

Cas looked away and Dean watched the man's face change into slight contempt mixed with wonder. "During the day you were somebody else, you know," he nodded his head slowly, "a leader, trying to keep order, while you were..." Cas shrugged, "freaking out about Charlotte. I mean, it helped that I knew her before all of this," he waved his hands around him to gesture the camp and the apocalypse, "so, I could help you talk things through. About the little things she would say, if it was her or the demon." Cas nodded his head again before he finally looked back at Dean, "But you held onto hope, that maybe she could- get "better". It's why you couldn't pull the trigger, why you couldn't face the truth that," Cas sighed and shrugged his shoulders as he waved his hands in the air, "life had "fucked you over again". Quote unquote."

Dean looked away as Cas stopped speaking, his words sinking in. So _Dean_ had a point, that Dean didn't know anything. But that didn't mean that he couldn't understand. He felt his heart clench at the idea that even in this screwed up world, with death literally around every corner, he still couldn't do what 'needed' to be done, for his own selfish reasons. Dean had been selfless enough times to be allowed to be selfish. He felt sick at the idea that no matter how selfish he wanted to be, apparently he couldn't something as simple as his wife for the end of times.

"He's going to hold a Hunter's funeral for her before we head into battle," Cas said and he patted Dean's knee before he gave it a small squeeze. "Don't know if you'd want to be there."

"Yeah," Dean muttered and he felt Cas push himself up off of Dean and walk away, Colt in hand.

* * *

Dean hadn't been surprised by the lack of interest in the funeral. Charlotte had been a hunter come demon who'd killed some good people within the camp. He had been surprised by how complacent people were to let _Dean _have his time, Cas by his side. Chuck stood to one side, awkwardly hanging on the edge of the close knit secret circle _Dean _and Cas had created in this future. Even Dean felt as though he was intruding on something as he hung back with Chuck, his hands in his pockets as the first few licks of flame began to take over.

"I really hope this doesn't happen to you," Chuck murmured to Dean and Dean couldn't bring himself to say anything. He turned his attention back to the backs of _Dean _and Cas. His gaze was so focused on the growing fire, on the feeling of Chuck walking away, that he almost missed the small movement of Cas' hand. Dean had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing Cas' hand on _Dean's_ wrist. Dean frowned as he looked at himself lift his hand to grab Cas' hand, squeeze it, and let go.

Cas turned, patted _Dean_ on the shoulder and started in Dean's direction. He gave Dean a tight smile before he stopped next to him and, in a low voice, mumbled, "Be ready to move out in the hour. Oh, and you want to talk to, you." Cas frowned at those words before he ducked his head and walked away again.

Dean didn't know how long he and his future self stood there, watching Charlotte's body burn, but eventually _Dean _turned and walked up to Dean. He stopped and Dean watched him slowly flick his eyes up and towards Dean's face before he said, "Couple of things you should know before we head out. Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said 'yes'."

"'Yes'?" Dean echoed and after a moment it clicked, "Wait, you mean-"

_Dean _nodded with a tight line of muscles in his jaw. "Yeah. Lucifer. I don't know why, but I want you to see just how bad things have gotten. Because," _Dean _stepped a little closer to Dean and his voice lowered to a dangerous level as he whispered, "when you get back to your time, when Zach zaps you back, say yes. To Michael."

Dean felt a shiver run down his spine and he stared at himself with shock. "That's crazy," he blurted. If I let him in then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."

"Look around you, man! Half the planet's better than no planet, which is exactly what we have right now. If I could do it over again, I's say 'yes' in a heartbeat."

Dean felt the urge to look away and he flicked his eyes away slightly as he mumbled, "So why don't you?"

_Dean_ scoffed. "I've tried. I've shouted yes till I was blue in the face. The angels aren't listening, they just left, gave up, and left us to deal with this. I had my chance and now it's too late. But not for you."

"No," Dean started with a shake of his head, "there's got to be another way."

_Dean_ scoffed again and Dean stared at himself with a small frown. "That what I thought. I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong, and I'm begging you to say yes." Dean just stared at his counterpart for several silent moments before _Dean_ tilted his head up with a tiny flicker to the corner of his mouth. "But you won't. Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us is it?"

Dean didn't say anything, just felt _Dean_ brush past his shoulders and he turned his attention back to the fire that was still going. "If you don't say yes," _Dean _spoke, making Dean turn around to face him, "then take War's ring from Charlotte. Maybe you'll save some lives."

* * *

**A/N:** From now on I'm going to answer questions at the bottom of each chapter. So, here goes.

**Elle: **Sam? You'll find out. The whole Alex and Charlotte thing. She did tell him about her being a hunter. Dean suspects that she did it on purpose to get him to finish with her, which is the truth. She wanted them to split and so told Alex that she was a hunter.

They did not have sex when Dean was in mourning for his Dad. There was angry kissing, leading up to angry sex, because Dean was keeping his anger inside and Charlotte knew that and was trying to get it out of him, trying to make him not contain it. But no sex around that time.

The Djinn timeline is when Mary didn't die and John never started Hunting. Charlotte's life still happened before that, she still wound up being a hunter, but never meeting the Winchesters because they never started hunting.

Tallahassee has not been explained. And I won't explain it yet.

Marriage? Partly fear of dying, partly because deep down he's wanted it with somebody. His commitment issues really come down to people not understanding his needs and his life. Yes, he's a hunter, 'normal' people don't get that and will think he's crazy or want him out of his life. But at the same time he has, canon wise, (in my opinion) shown signs of wanting a normal life with somebody that just gets his everyday needs outside of hunting whilst understanding him hunting. Charlotte is this. She understands that Sam comes before her for Dean, understands his love of his car, understands that he's a badass hunter, understands that sometimes just curling up and lying together in bed is awesome.

Pregnancy. I wanted that to be more of a 'Dean's in shock from teh information' kind of thing. At the time, he'd just been torturing Alastiar (a reminder of everything that had happened in hell and what he'd done there), ended up hospitalised, then learnt that he'd made a baby with Charlotte and lost it. It was a lot to take in.


	48. 2014 August part 6

**A/N:** This is the last installment of endverse! For this story at least. I'm already working on an endverse story, but I'm not sure when I'll have that up. I'll do my best to get it up sooner rather than later. For now, enjoy.

2014 – August 3rd

Part 6

Dean sat silently in the passenger seat, eyes glancing from the road, to Cas, back to the road, in the rear view mirror behind them and towards the car in front of them. He kept glancing at Cas more than anything, still thinking about what he'd learnt, about Charlotte, about Cas, about himself. He couldn't help but to hold out on some small bit of hope that everything was made up by Zach and never had a chance to happen.

Cas' shifting about attracted Dean's attention and he watched him pull out a bottle of pills before he expertly popped it open with one hand and tilted it back against his lips. Dean frowned and reached out to tug the bottle from Cas' hands. "Let me see those."

"You want some?"

Dean kept his frown in place as he turned the bottle over and read the label. "Amphetamines?" He glanced back up at Cas with raised brows, surprised more than anything.

Cas shrugged, his eyes flicking to Dean briefly before he focused back on the road. "It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe."

Dean let out a slow breath, trying to hide the small shake of his head. This definitely wasn't the Cas he knew. This Cas, with alcohol, drugs, his casualness, being stoned, it seemed as though he was broken. "Don't get me wrong, Cas, I uh, I'm happy the stick is out of your ass. But- what's going on with- with the drugs and the hippy stuff?" Cas laughed and Dean frowned with more confusion. He couldn't figure out this Cas. "What's so funny?"

"Dean," Cas started with a tight smile, his tone tired and matter of fact, "I'm not an anger anymore."

"What?" Dean blurted.

"Yeah," Cas drew out, "I went mortal."

Dean still didn't understand how an angel could just, not be an angel anymore. "What do you mean? How?"

Cas let out a small sigh before he kept his gaze focused on the road as he answered. "I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of- pshew- drained away." Cas smiled sadly as he went on, "And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean," his tone shifted to something serious, something Dean hadn't heard from him yet, "I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months."

Dean raised his brows and glanced back at the road. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"So," Dean looked back at Cas, "you're human. Well, welcome to the club."

Cas made a noise, somewhere between a scoff and a laugh as he muttered, "Thanks." There was a tight, almost grim smile to his face as he carried on, flicking his eyes to Dean briefly, "Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now, I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless." Cas shook his head once before he shrugged with a pitiful grin, "I mean, why the hell not bury myself in decadence and drugs right?" The grin turned into a tight smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes and Dean felt sorry, for everything that had happened to Cas. "It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then," Cas shrugged and his smirk dwindled into a small, echo of a smile, as he gave a shallow chuckle, "that's- that's just how I roll."

Dean swallowed nervously and looked away. There was a lot he still didn't know, a lot he would never know. But it was a lot he never wanted to happen. For him to see Castiel, angel of the lord, turned into a drug popping, sex loving hippy? It made Dean's stomach turn with shame and worry.

* * *

The city still looked just as ruined and wrecked as when Dean had first woken up here. He couldn't stop himself from eyeing every alleyway, every nook and cranny that they passed, looking for anybody that was infected. There was a small part of him that hated how quiet it was, how they had yet to see anybody or anything.

He kept glancing at _Dean_, watching himself, wondering if he was feeling the same strangeness of wrong in the air. He flicked his eyes to Cas, to Risa and to the others, their faces a mask of determination making him question what they all did before the apocalypse.

Eventually they came to Jackson County Sanitarium and Dean couldn't stop feeling like this was wrong, as though they were being watched. He crouched down behind a car as _Dean_ used a pair of binoculars to checkk the building out. "There, second floor window." Dean glanced up towards the building to see what _Dean _was pointing out. "We go in there." He frowned slightly and glanced at the other members of their party. They knew something was wrong with that plan too.

"You sure about this?" Risa asked. Dean liked Risa. She spoke her mind, wasn't afraid to hold back, not even to the douchebag future him.

"They'll never see this coming," _Dean _said and Dean flicked his eyes to Cas. He didn't believe him. In fact, something close to fear seemed to cross the ex-angels face and Dean turned back to look at himself with a frown. "Trust me. Now, weapons check, we're on the move in five."

"Hey, uh, me," Dean started, "can I talk to you for a sec?" He stepped away from the car, from the group and away from the building, happy when he could hear footsteps behind him. He turned, made sure that they were far enough away and started in a low voice, "Tell me what's going on."

To his credit, _Dean _managed a look of innocent confusion as he said, "What?"

"I know you." He waited a moment before Dean went on. "You're lying to these people, and to me."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." Dean wanted to scoff, instead he narrowed his eyes into a small glare and carried on, "See, I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror." That seemed to grab _Dean's _attention and Dean finished, "There's something you're not telling us."

"I don't know what you're talking about?"

Dean couldn't stop his scoff this time. "Oh, really? Well I don't seem to be the only member of your posse with some questions, so uh, maybe I'll just take my doubts over to them."

That grabbed _Dean's _attention and he held a hand up, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. Okay." He took a breath before he levelled a look with Dean. "Take a look around you man. This place should be crawling with Croats. Where are they?"

Dean knew that there was something wrong with that and it hit him, exactly why it was wrong. "They cleared a path for us, which means that this-"

"Is a trap. Exactly."

That didn't make Dean feel any better. If he knew that, then the others would know that too. More so... "Then we can't go through the front."

"Oh we're not," _Dean _answered as if it was the most simple thing in the world. He tilted his head back towards the other members of their group and said, "They are." Dean's stomach dropped at that and he suddenly had no idea who he was looking at. This wasn't him, it couldn't be him. "They're the decoys. You and me, we're going in through the back."

Dean shook his head with a sickened frown, "You're gonna feed your friends to the meat grinder? Cas too?" _Dean_ looked away at that. "For a diversion?" Dean shook his head head and couldn't help the venom in his voice. "Oh man, something is broken inside of you. You're making decisions I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends."

"Exactly," _Dean_ countered. "It's one of the reasons we're in this mess."

Dean glared and gestured back towards the group, "These people trust you, they count on you."

"To kill the devil. _That's_ what they trust me to do. To stop the apocalypse, to give humanity hope for some kind of future."

"And what's the point if you've got nobody left to share it with?" He gave _Dean _a look and squared his shoulders. "I won't let you do this."

_Dean_ just stared at him and Dean couldn't read his own damn face. "Really?"

"Yeah," Dean muttered before _Dean_ swung. Dean didn't have chance to react and before he knew it he hit the ground and the world turned black.

* * *

Gun fire. That's what Dean heard first and he lifted his head up with a groan. Hearing more gun fire pushed him to his feet and he started running towards the building. The windows flashed brightly with each new wave of bullets and Dean had to take deep breaths to steady himself. They'd gone through with the plan, Cas was up there right now, either dead or about to die any minute now. Dean steeled himself and made a start towards the back of the building, to where _Dean_ should be. Thunder and lightning made him duck his head instinctively and he briefly wondered where the storm had come from before he stopped at the scene in front of him. _Dean_ was on the floor, a foot against his neck and the Colt out of arms reach.

Dean stared, helpless to do anything as he watched his future self's neck break. The person, dressed in an immaculate white suit, turned round and Dean felt his heart stop for a moment at the sight of his brother.

"Oh," Sam said, "hello Dean." Dean stared, unable to take in the fact that this Sam in front of him, was Lucifer. He didn't know if Sam would even still be in there. "Aren't you a surprise." More thunder and lightning crashed in the sky and Dean looked up at it with a worried frown. He heard Lucifer start talking behind him and turned to stare at him, "You've come a long way to see this."

"Well," Dean started, mustering all of the bravado he had in him. This was the Devil, in his brother's body, just feet from him. "Go ahead. Kill me."

"Kill you?" Lucifer echoed before he looked past Dean. He started to look over his shoulder before he realised what it was he was looking at. "Don't you think that would be a little... redundant?" Dean didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Lucifer sighed and went on, "I'm sorry. It must be painful speaking to me in this shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be." Lucifer reached out for Dean's shoulder and Dean stepped back with a venomous look. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean."

"Oh I'm not afraid," Dean spat out, "I'm just thinking about how I'm gonna kill, cause I will kill you."

Lucifer let out a small laugh and smirked as he slowly stepped around Dean. "I never wanted this," he waved a hand around him, "for you. I loved everything that God created, including this beautiful planet. But when he created you, hairless apes, do you know what he asked of us?"

Dean shook his head, "I really don't care."

Lucifer carried on with a tiny smirk still in place. "He asked us to love you more than him. I said, "Father, I can't. These human beings are flawed and murderous." And do you know what he did? He had Michael cast me into hell. Does the punishment really fit the crime? Especially when-"

"I don't care," Dean repeated. "I'm not buying any of this sympathy for the devil crap. Because I know what you really are?"

"And what's that?"

"The same thing only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, belly to the ground supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you, is the size of your ego."

Lucifer smiled, "I like you, Dean. I can see why the other angels see in you."

Dean glared. "Then you gotta know that I'm not going to stop until I find a way to kill you. _Before_ all of this."

Lucifer's smile twisted into a dark grim and Dean did not like how he was being looked at. "You can't stop what's already happening Dean. Even as we speak, back in your time, events have happened, are happening, that you can't change and won't change the outcome. I know that you won't kill me, just like you won't say yes to Michael. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter when you make it back, we will always end up here. I win. So, I win."

There was another flash of thunder and lightning and Dean blinked to find Lucifer, the sanitarium and everything gone to be replaced with the motel room he'd started in with Zachariah facing him. Dean stepped away from him with a sigh and shook his head. "Well," he started, still trying to control the chills running through his body, "if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you."

"Enough, Dean, enough," Zach started with a tired tone. "You saw it right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong, just say yes."

Dean propped himself against the sink in the small kitchenette and folded his arms over his chest. "And how do I know this isn't one of your tricks? Some angel hocus pocus?"

Zachariah shook his head, "The time for tricks is over. Give yourself to Michael, before Lucifer gets to Sam. Save billions of lives in the process."

Dean kept his glare fixed on Zachariah before he tilted his head to one side. After a moment he simply said, "Nah."

"'Nah'?" Zachariah echoed before he sighed, "You telling me you haven't learnt your lesson?"

Dean pushed himself away from the counter and came to stand just inches away from Zachariah's face. "Oh I've learned a lesson. Just not the one you wanted to teach."

"Well, I'll just have to-"

Dean blinked and stared at the empty road. He turned on the spot to see Cas stood there, a small flicker of a smile on the angels face. Dean's shoulders sagged in relief and smiled himself. "That's pretty nice timing, Cas."

"We had an appointment."

Dean's smile widened into a grin and he settled his hand on Cas' shoulder, and waved his other towards Cas' chest. "Don't ever change."

Cas nodded his head with a small, proud smile on his face and Dean couldn't stop smiling himself. This was Cas, the Cas that he remembered, the Cas that he knew. "How did Zachariah find you?"

Dean squeezed his shoulder as he waved him off with his other hand. "Long story." He pulled his hand off Cas' shoulder and dug his phone out of his pocket. "I need to talk to Sam, and Charlotte."

* * *

Dean had no idea who would show up first. Cas had left him to continue his search for God and Dean was left to stand next to his car, his eyes fixed on the only road that led out to this small clearing. He didn't care who showed first, but he needed both of them, right now, just in front of them, just so he knew that what he'd seen wasn't true, that everything was fine, that it was going to be fine.

Charlotte's blue Pontiac pulled up first, stopping just next to Dean's car. She stretched as she climbed out of it and Dean barely gave her chance to put her arms back down before he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her against his chest. He pressed his face to the crook of her neck and just inhaled everything that was her. "Erm," she started, slowly sliding her hands around his shoulders. "Hi to you too."

He lifted his head back up and let go with one hand to cup her face. He studied every inch of it as though he was seeing it for the first time, as if he might never see it again. Blue eyes, not black. Blue. Charlotte. He smiled widely, and pressed his forehead to hers with a sigh, his eyes closed. "It's, it's," he swallowed nervously and slowly opened his eyes to see her staring at him with worry. He grabbed her face in both hands and she grabbed onto his wrists as he stroked his thumbs over her cheeks. "Char," he whispered.

"I'm here," she whispered back before she moved one hand to stroke it through his hair. "You want to talk about it?"

He did. And he just wanted to forget everything about it. He nodded his head and went back to wrapping his arms around her and just holding her. "Later."

"Okay," she whispered before she turned her head and kissed his temple. He sighed in relief, his body letting out a sigh of relief as she held onto him as well. She was here, alive, human. "Later."

The sound of another car pulling up made Dean pull away from Charlotte. He wiped a hand over his face and if asked would refuse that he'd been close to crying. He ignored the look Charlotte gave him and turned to the car as it stopped. Sam stepped out and he gave his brother a tight smile before he stepped back to the passenger side of his car and reached through the window. He grabbed Ruby's knife and turned to face Sam.

"Hey Sam," Charlotte said.

He gave her a smile and said, "Charlotte. Dean."

Dean nodded his head and simply held the knife out to Sam, handle first. Sam looked at him for a moment before he took it and Dean licked his lips before he started speaking. "If you're serious and you want back in, you should hang onto this. I'm sure you're rusty." Sam wouldn't look at him and Dean felt like he'd kicked a puppy. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't know, I'm whatever I need to be. But, I- I was wrong."

Sam looked up then with a small frown and nod. "What made you change your mind?"

"Long story." Dean could feel Charlotte staring at his back and he knew he'd owed an explanation. "The point is, maybe we are each others Achilles heels. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know, we're all we've got. More than that, we keep each other human." He couldn't help but to glance back at Charlotte who looked at him curiously. Some days, he hated that she could read him so well and he could feel that happening right now.

"Thank you," Sam said, pulling Dean's attention back to him, "I mean it, thank you. I won't let you down. Either of you."

Charlotte stepped up to Dean's side with a shrug and smiled at Sam, "Sam, you can never let me down."

"I know you won't," Dean added. "I mean, you're the second best hunter on the planet."

Charlotte turned to look at Dean with one raised brow. "Dean, you've finally figured out that Sam's better than you."

"Shut up," Dean said with a grin, shoving her shoulder lightly.

Sam chuckled and put Ruby's knife away before he asked, "So, what do we now?"

Dean looked from his brother to his wife and back. This right here was his life, his everything and he nodded his head with certainty. "We make our own future." They would. He was sure. At least, he hoped he was sure.

* * *

**A/N:** Answered questions:

**Lexi:** Oh trust me, I have certain things planned out. There will be more protective Dean.

**JayWinchester:** I am so happy with your reaction. Keep your eyes peeled.

**Elle:** I hope this answers your questions, for what I can do. This story is going to cover seasons 4 and 5. Then the next story in the series will be s6 – 7 because I know how I want that one to end. Again, yes there will be more possessive Dean. Why is Charlotte rarely jealous? Partly because she's dealing with a lot on her plate, there was Cassie and that girl in the supermarket when they were younger. A lot of her behaviour towards Dean is built upon their past history, before their relationship. He's always talked about the girls, about getting laid, kissing, dating, she's used to this idea that Dean has always had a wandering eye. More recently, she's had a lot on her mind, she's spent a lot of time away from Dean and hasn't had much chance to be jealous, I am going to play on this in a short while.

The pet names thing. Again, from childhood they started out insulting each other, which became their way of saying, "You're my friend." Terms such as honey, princess or babe were used to mock and make fun of one another. Gradually over time, because they kept up with a lot of the same attitudes, the "slut" "whore" phrases gradually became their personally pet names for one another. In the eyes of Sam and Natalie, they're weird and disgusting and strange.

To why she got involved with Alex, she was scared to get involved with Dean. Dean's a Hunter, Alex isn't. She doesn't have to worry about Dean dying on a hunt, doesn't have to worry about what trouble he's got himself into next. But mostly because she was scared.


	49. 2009 June part 2

**A/N:** For those who want to follow my on my personal tumblr, here it is: .com

I know it's a shorter fic than normal but this is something that's been needed for a while. Enjoy.

2009 – June

Part 2

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Dean tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he stared at his shoes. He was the one that had dragged Charlotte to this clearing in the middle of nowhere. He was the one who wanted to tell her everything, to talk it out, to clear up his own worries and doubts. He was the one who needed to know that everything was going to be alright, that there was no possibility of that future ever happening, but he couldn't bring himself to start talking. Every time he opened his mouth to start he regretted it and closed his lips again.

He felt Charlotte slide her hand into his and he lifted his head to see her smiling warmly at him, trying to reassure him that it would be fine in that one look. "You okay?" she whispered before she raised his hand up and kissed his knuckles one at a time. "Take your time, Dean. I'm not going anywhere."

He turned and couldn't stop himself from reaching up and cupping her face. He placed himself between her legs and pulled her forward on the hood of the Impala so that they were chest to chest. Dean dug his fingers into her waist and kissed her hard, afraid that he would lose her, again. "Char," he whispered when they parted and he took in slow, deep breaths.

She smiled at him, pressing her forehead to his as she stroked her thumbs over his cheeks. "Hi," she whispered back and she placed a small kiss to the top of his head, "Choose a place to start and talk me through it."

"Zach," he mumbled, and he slowly let his eyes meet hers. Blue eyes. He couldn't stop looking at them, praying that he'd see nothing but blue for the rest of his life. "He erm," he swallowed nervously and ducked his head for a moment before he started again, "he showed me what was going to happen, if- if I don't say 'Yes' to Michael."

Charlotte didn't say anything for a while before Dean felt her cup his cheek and tug him gently up by the chin to look at him with worried eyes. "Dean," she whispered, "talk me through it. Where were we all?"

Dean took a deep breath and swallowed nervously before he spoke, "Bobby and Nat were dead. Killed, ambushed, something. Erm, Sam, Sammy, he'd-" Dean had to take another deep breath before he went on, "he said 'Yes' to Lucifer. Cas, he, he lost his wings. The angels left. Cas enjoyed drugs and sex. Cas was a hippie. I, I-" he shook his head and had to look away, only looking back when Charlotte nudged his chin up. "I was a heartless dick, broken. I wasn't me. I didn't even recognise who I was looking at. Chuck was there. Some chick named Risa. The erm, Croatoan virus, you remember when I told you about that?"

"I remember."

"Yeah, well, Lucifer used that to destroy the world. We were living in erm, this camp in Kansas City and you." He looked up at Charlotte and he could still hear the other version of her laughing at him, mocking him, could still remember the pain he felt with the realisation that Cas had killed her. "You -" he fumbled, and he slowly shook his head as he grabbed onto her waist tightly. "You died, saving Cas and- and you- you turned. Into a demon."

Dean couldn't look at her. He pressed his head to her neck and focused on taking deep breaths to rid himself of those images, those thoughts. He wanted to forget it, wanted to erase those few days from his mind. He didn't want to imagine what a few years would have been like, but he couldn't help it. His mind started working and he couldn't stop it.

"Dean." He snapped his head up to see Charlotte staring at him with a look of certainty. "It's not going to happen. Zach was messing with you."

Dean snorted. He couldn't help it, he snorted. "I know, but-" he bit down on his bottom lip for a moment before he shook his head, "what if he's right? What if that's how it all goes down?"

Charlotte let out a small sigh with a tiny smile and shook her head. "Listen to me, Dean. Sammy isn't going to say the big 'Yes' to Lucifer. Bobby and Nat aren't going to die. You're not going to become some heartless bastard. Cas, no matter how funny it would be to finally see that stick up his ass gone, isn't going to become a drug and sex loving hippie."

Dean stared at Charlotte for a moment, his eyes studying her face with a tiny frown before he mumbled, "You missed one out."

She raised her brows at him and shook her head, "No?"

Dean tilted his head to one side with a sigh and settled his hands on her thighs. "You? A demon?" She looked away and Dean's heart started to pound with fear. His lips parted as she refused to meet his gaze and he dug his fingers gently into her thighs. "Charlotte?" he started shakily. She flicked her eyes back up at him and he felt a shiver of fear run down his spine.

"_I'm a little twisted, Dean, sure. But the real secret? I've been a little twisted for a _long_ time."_ Those words echoed in his head and Dean shook his head.

"I-" she started before she grabbed one of his wrists in both hands. She turned his hand over and clasped their hands together before she closed her eyes with a sigh. Charlotte shook her head and licked her lips. "Dean- I don't- I _can't_ promise something I'm not certain of."

"Wha-"

"There hasn't been a time!" she started, her bottom lip quivering. Dean could see the corners of her eyes begin to water as she squeezed his hand a little. This wasn't her looking twisted or anywhere close to demony. This was her, human, whole, Charlotte. "Several months ago, when I was hunting Lilith, I- I had a lead to a motel room in a town." She took a breath and looked away, shook her head and slowly looked back at Dean. "I had the Colt okay, and, I got to the room and just shot because it was Lilith. I thought that it was that simple to stop the apocalypse." She struggled for words for the next few seconds before she whispered, "I was in a shoot first ask questions later mood and, and- somehow, it wasn't Lilith. It was Nat."

Dean stared at Charlotte with a slight frown.

"I know," she whispered, "I know. Was I set up?" Charlotte scoffed and shook her head. "I- I still don't know, I asked Nat she, she said that one minute she was in New Mexico and the next she- she was there, right there, in- in this crappy motel room in Colorado. Demons? Angels? I don't know, but I wasn't thinking, I was just- _going. _And I shot her. With the Colt."

Dean's frown deepened as he opened his mouth. "But she's-"

Charlotte nodded a small sob escaping. "I couldn't let her die. I couldn't. She's like a sister to me, you know? And she's so sweet, kind, didn't deserve that." Charlotte gripped desperately at Dean's jacket, tugging him close as she spoke with her eyes focused on his chest rather than his face. "It was my fault she was dead, and- and I needed to fix that. I asked. Okay? I asked Cas, I asked, Zach, Trickster and Anna, but _nobody _answered. Nobody _cared._" Her voice turned into a tiny, childlike whisper as she muttered, "What was I supposed to do?"

It sunk in. It hit Dean what she was talking about and he looked at her in shock. "You- you made a deal?"

"It's Nat! She's my Sam! She didn't deserve that! And none of the angels were willing to help. I had no choice."

Dean took a shaky breath as he looked over Charlotte's shaking figure. "How- how long?"

She finally looked up at him with a sorry expression he'd seen on himself when he'd told her he'd had a year left. After a moment she shrugged. "It's- vague."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Dean mumbled quietly.

Charlotte licked her lips and shrugged again. Her fingers played with the edges of Dean's jacket as she whispered shakily. "The deal was, the next time I die that that was it. I'd be in hell, burning, whatever. But I'm here. I feel like me. Except..."

Dean raised his brows and cupped a hand underneath her chin to lift her eyes back up to meet his. He tried to soften his expression as he quietly asked, "Except what?"

She slowly shook her head and finally said, "When I sleep, I'm there, in hell. Being tortured. When I wake up I can still feel everything that happened, but I don't feel like- like a demon. I just-" a few tears started to slip down her face and Dean's heart broke. "I'm scared. If I sleep, I'm in hell. It feels so real, but I don't know if it is because technically, I've died. But I'm here and I don't, I don't feel different. Dean," she pleaded, her fingers tightening their hold on his jacket and he heard how broken she felt in her voice as she whispered, tears falling down her face, "I'm scared."

"We'll fix this," he mumbled, trying to believe the words himself. "We'll find a way to fix this, I promise."

"Dean, I'm sorry," she whispered in a rush before she pressed her face against the crook of his neck and held onto him. "I'm sorry."

He closed his eyes and just wrapped his arms around her, shaking his head. "We'll fix this," he muttered again. "I promise. We have to."

**A/N: **Answer time:

**Elle:** Her voice? I hadn't thought about it too much but after listening to some Katherine Pierce, I can see that. Maybe not quite as scratchy but something similar.

Dean didn't sleep with other people once he left hell. He sees his marriage to Charlotte as a sign of commitment, as something he wants to keep and will work on keeping. It's something he doesn't consider lightly.

The whole Cassie thing. In the show he'd promised to go back and talk to her. I kinda played on that and that Dean did kind of use it as a payback kind of thing.

For me, I personally think that especially in the earlier years of the show, Dean struggled with commitment issues. He didn't think he'd live long enough to hold onto anything solid so I added that into my fic in him agreeing to the open relationship, even after knowing Charlotte sleeps with other people makes him jealous. In a sense, I wanted it to be kind of be him trying not to get too attached, similarly to Charlotte, because they're both hunters. Throughout the years this changes of course, but more so in the earlier years Dean's commitment is flaky.

Personally, I don't care about marriage. I think it wholly depends on the people but at the end of the day, if both parties are in an agreement and they both come home to the same bed every night, and everybody's happy, then fair enough. I do lean towards being committed to one person, but everybody has a preference and a different way of living.


	50. 2009 June part 3

**A/N: **We're on Chapter 50 guys! deanstwistedsoul is my tumblr. (I didn't realise until now it completely shut that part out) I'm updating early cause I'm working all of Tuesday and will just want to sleep when I get in. Enjoy!

The preview for my endverse fic, "Childish Hope" is still up. Once I get the first chapter written to a point I'm happy with, it's at about 1000 words now, I will post it. I'm hoping it will be up before the end of the month, hopefully within the next two weeks at least. For the time being I will update it once every two weeks. It's going to be harder to write then "The Kids Aren't Alright" simply because it's completely AU and there is nothing canon, besides a few vague points, that happens. I am working on it and I'll let you know once it's up and running.

**Mini Competition:** The challenge: Think up a ship name for Charlotte and Dean.

The reward: I will write you a short piece, on any characters from the SPN universe with whatever prompt you want.

GO!

Anyway, enjoy chapter 50.

2009 – June

Part 3

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte tapped her finger against the book as she slowly flicked through the pages. She was sure it was this book that she wanted. She frowned deeply as she read each spell, what it did and flicked the page with a sigh. It felt like a losing battle, but doing something was better than doing nothing. She read what felt like the fiftieth spell before she groaned and tilted her head back, running a hand over her face. This was why she didn't do research. It sucked.

"What are you complaining at?" Bobby grumbled and Charlotte lifted her head to see Bobby wheel into the room.

It still threw her to see Bobby in a wheelchair and she sat up in the chair with a shake of her head. "Just looking, seeing if anything here points at any kind of way to put the devil back in his cage, or kill him." It made her nauseous to think about how easy it was for the lie to roll off her tongue and she made a note to work up the courage to tell Bobby the same thing she'd told Dean.

She just didn't know how. The man was already running on nothing but bad news, she didn't want to add to it if she could help it.

Bobby snorted and shook his head as he started around the desk. "Yeah, I doubt I've got anything like this."

"One can always hope," Charlotte muttered and she folded the corner of the page she was on before she closed the book. She stretched in her seat and stood up. "I'll make a supply run. You need anything?"

"Beer," Bobby answered and Charlotte gave him a look. "What? Man needs to drink."

"Uh huh," she muttered before she grabbed her keys and moved into the kitchen. She started to open the cupboards and the fridge, raising a brow at the almost empty spaces and she sighed. "Bobby, what would you do without me?"

"Manage?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes with a grin and grabbed her jacket. "I'll be back in thirty."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Charlotte took a deep breath of fresh air and couldn't help the slight sigh that made her entire body sag. It didn't take a genius to know that Bobby was down and that nothing was helping him. She didn't have any good news herself and didn't want to share what was on her mind at the moment.

She was going to become a demon. Dean had mentioned that she had died to save Cas, but that didn't change the fact that she turned, or will turn. She didn't want to think about it but she couldn't stop. Was that still going to happen to her? Was what she saw of hell actually her soul being tortured? It didn't make sense and she groaned in frustration as she slammed the door to her car shut behind her.

And Sam was going to say 'Yes'. That little bit of information wouldn't stop nagging at her. Sam. The Devil. Lucifer. That was something she really couldn't stop thinking about, something she never wanted to see possibly happen. But why? The only reason Charlotte could think up as to why Sam would say 'Yes' was because he released Lucifer in the first place.

She started the engine on her car and pulled out of the salvage yard, the music a little too loud. She wanted to drown out her thoughts about death, Lucifer, the apocalypse, demons, everything and she tapped her finger against her steering wheel, trying to hum along to the song on the radio.

It did nothing to distract her and she started to wring her hands on the steering wheel. Sam. Lucifer. Demon. She scoffed and shook her head. Sam could not say 'Yes' to Lucifer. It would destroy Dean. It would destroy her. Sam deserved better.

She pulled over after several minutes and turned the engine off, her eyes staring at the quiet road in front of her. She'd promised Dean that Sam wouldn't say 'Yes', that Bobby and Natalie wouldn't die, that Cas wouldn't become a hippy and they he wouldn't become a dick. How? How could she stop all of that and stop herself from becoming a demon?

"Cas," she whispered before it even registered in her mind what she was doing. It shocked her that his name had fallen from her lips and she sat back in her seat and stared at the roof of her car. "Castiel, please, could you, I know. Okay? I know you don't like me. I'm wrong, but Cas-" she worked her mouth silently for several minutes before she frowned and stared down at her lap.

Then there was a rustle of fabric and her eyes widened before she slowly looked up at Cas. He was sat in the passenger seat, a slight frown on his face as he stared out of the window before he slowly turned to look at her. "Charlotte," he mumbled.

A part of her mind couldn't help but to notice how low and gravelly his voice was and she shook her head away from those thoughts. She opened her mouth for a moment before she sighed and just stared at him with a pleading look. "What's wrong with me?"

He squinted at her and tilted his head, his eyes looking over her before he turned his head. "I'm not sure."

"Really?" she blurted, scaredness creeping into her voice. "Please, give me something. I'm- I got nothing. I'm scared, I'm terrified and I've got nothing. So please, give me something more than 'I'm not sure.'" She knew she was begging, she could feel the flush of embarrassment work its way into her cheeks. But she was desperate.

Cas pursed his lips as he stared intently at Charlotte before he looked away again. "You look different," he finally muttered. "I can't put my finger on it, but every humans soul burns bright. We, Angels, can see it just looking at someone." He looked back at her and let out a small sigh. "We can spot a demon from a human because their soul is twisted, dark, corrupt, and we see it in their face."

Charlotte stared back at Cas as he spoke and swallowed nervously. She cleared her throat and quietly asked, "And what do you see when you look at me?"

He studied her again, his eyes slow as they worked over her body before he seemed to falter in talking before he finally said, "Something broken." Her mouth dropped and she felt hope slither away inside of her gut. Cas shook his head gently before he looked away with a grim expression. "Your soul, it's, the only way I can describe it, it's damaged. How or how badly? I don't know. I won't know unless I touch upon your soul with my hand."

The words slowly worked their way through her mind before she closed her mouth with a small frown. "Touch my soul?"

Cas nodded his head slowly. "Yes. Angels can touch upon a humans soul for many reasons. I touched Dean's soul to save him from Hell and I can touch upon yours to see what has happened."

She pulled a face and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Something in the back of her mind wanted to send Cas packing and run in the opposite direction. Something cold settled over her and she shuffled slightly with a mumble of, "Buy me dinner first."

Charlotte could feel Cas' eyes back on her as he said, "What does dinner have to do with this?" She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the tiny flicker of a smile to her face. He was so naive it was kind of cute. Then it hit her what it was that she was feeling.

Fear.

Something inside of her was deeply terrified of whatever it was that Cas was suggesting. It numbed her to her seat and she couldn't move as she clung to that feeling. There was a fuzzy memory attached to that feeling and it took her a moment to figure out why.

"Azrael," she whispered.

She could feel Cas straighten up in his seat as he said, "What do you know about him?"

She slowly looked up at Cas and couldn't stop the mournful expression on her face. "He's a dick? He-" she took a breath and closed her eyes before she carried on, the memories resurfacing and only making her insides twist as she spoke, "he tortured me, my soul or something, when I was four. Can Angels remove souls?"

"Yes."

"Well he did _that_ then," she muttered bitterly, looking away again.

There was silence for a minute before Cas, almost hesitantly, said, "Charlotte?" She glanced back up at him and raised her brows as an answer. "I know that this was an unpleasant experience for you, but if you let me touch your soul, I can tell you what is wrong."

Her mouth failed to say anything and she felt her heart begin to race. Suddenly there wasn't enough air and Cas was too close and her heart was going to explode any second and when did the air conditioning stop working in her car and her palms were sweating and she couldn't breath and she couldn't think and she wanted to run and Cas was too close and it would hurt and she needed to move and she needed to stretch her legs and she just needed to get away and she couldn't breath oh god why couldn't she breathe and she could feel her skin heat up and she could feel her heart hurt as it beat against her chest and everything hurt and everything was tight and she-

Charlotte took a deep breath, a deep wave of calm washing over her and she felt Cas pull his hand away from her chest. She stared at him with wide eyes and he looked sadly at her as he said, "You were, I believe having a panic attack?"

"Right," she said slowly and she took deep breaths, her body calm and relaxed.

"You didn't answer my question."

That shook her a little and she nodded her head quickly, swallowing nervously. "Yeah, okay, erm, do it. Let's- just," she closed her eyes and took another deep breath to try to calm herself. It wasn't working. "Just do it."

There was a moment of silence before Cas slowly said, "You are aware that it will hurt."

"I've had it once, give it to me again. Just do it before I change my mind, Cas."

"Okay," he whispered and Charlotte gripped the steering wheel tightly as Cas' arm moved over hers and into her field of vision. She could feel Cas twist next to her and- her head snapped back with a yell as pain flared through her body, spiking every single nerve in her body at once and she could feel nothing but pain. A ringing started in her ears and she tried to count the seconds that passed before it was suddenly over and she sagged against the wheel, her head pressed to it as she tried to breathe deeply. In, out, in out, in out.

Cas pressed his cool hand to her head and Charlotte closed her eyes with a happy hum as the pain washed away. "Don't leave us," she muttered before she cracked an eye open as he pulled his hand away. "Seriously Cas, you're not a dick. Don't leave us."

Cas looked at her for a second, a tiny smile on his face before he looked away, his expression sobering. "Your soul," he started and Charlotte felt dread climb up her throat. That was not a happy tone, "it's, broken." Cas sounded confused as he said this and Charlotte frowned.

"And what does that mean?"

He eyed her up again before he shook his head with a deep frown, "It's-" he squinted at her as he thought and she could tell that even he couldn't make sense of this, "It's impossible."

"Well," she started, disbelief in her tone, "so's an angel banging a human but, look, I'm here. So why? Why is it impossible?"

Cas sighed and tilted his head as he said, "If a human soul is broken, it usually means that they're personality, they're person, their being changes. Usually they become a demon. But you're still..._you_."

Charlotte scoffed. "You've gotta have more than that."

"Again, it's impossible, but it feels like you're missing something."

Charlotte frowned, "But I'm still me? I don't feel like I'm missing something."

Cas shook his head, "I don't know."

"Can you fix me?"

"No."

Charlotte chewed on her bottom lip and nodded. She ran a hand over her face and looked away to glare out of the window. "Bottom line it for me, Cas. Don't sugar coat it, don't dress it up. Just, tell me, worst case scenario, what's happened to me?"

There was a pause before Cas slowly said, "You've been to hell and have been tortured and come back, just before you turned into a demon."

Charlotte couldn't stop the sad smile, "Is that all?"

"That's not something-"

"It's a saying, Cas!" She felt her bottom lip tremble and she couldn't stop wringing her hands on the steering wheel. "Look, thanks. Keep, keep looking for God. Maybe he can fix this shit we're all in."

"Okay. We will try to fix this."

She looked back at him with a tight smile and nodded her head. "Thanks Cas."

He smiled at her before he disappeared and she let her head hit the steering wheel with a shaky breath. She was fucked. She was so fucked.

* * *

**Answers: **

**bjq:** Thank you!

**JayWinchester: **"Deanlotte" I kinda like it. I've never really thought about it and I think somebody mentioned it in "Kiddy Corral" but I can't remember it. I think it was really similar tbh. "The French Mistake" The moment you said that I started thinking and my God I think I will.

**Lexi:** Part 1 was before the endverse! mini series. Natalie is 29. She was born 22nd August 1980. And as to War's ring, Charlotte is still wearing that. Dean's maybe forgotten about it... (spoilers)

**TheImpalaLover**: Thank you for catching up so quickly with this story. I'm happy you're planning to stick around for the rest of the story and hope you enjoy it.

**Elle:** Thank you. I hope this clears up some of the soul thing. But that's all I have to say. Yes, Dean and Sam are still her best friends and she understands that Sam is Dean's best friend too. The interaction with Ash can't happen because he died. Chapter 58 of Kiddy Corral explains that. How do I see the marriage of Dean and Charlotte? I see it as Dean showing that he wants to commit, something that he wants to hold onto, maybe after hunting, maybe after they can finally stop hunting it's something he wants to be able to fall back onto. It's also a huge trust for Dean, because Charlotte knows about hunting, knows about Dean's flaws, about his brother and everything that is Dean. To me, I see it as a sign that Dean's found somebody who knows and understands him.


	51. 2009 July

**A/N:** Hey guys, this is more of a feels chapter. There will be some action in the next one, I think. In the near future is "Changing Channels" and I will say that I have some fun in mind for that episode. Enjoy.

2009 – July

_Missouri – Richmond_

Dean stared at the ceiling with a warm smile on his face, his fingers on his right hand absently drawing circles on Charlotte's bare back. She was draped over him, her cheek resting on his right shoulder as she followed the outline of the anti-possession tattoo Dean had on his left shoulder. He threaded his other hand through her hair slowly, just enjoying this moment of doing nothing but enjoying each others company. They were both taking a small break from hunting, just for a few days, and Dean would absolutely refuse to admit that he'd diverted his and Sam's journey from New Mexico to come here. Sam had definitely not gagged and demanded that he be dropped off in another town.

_Worth it_, Dean thought to himself with a smile as he took deep, slow breaths. Neither of them had moved and Dean knew that eventually they would need to shower. Eventually.

He tilted his head down to look at Charlotte and he pulled a few strands of hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. There was something brewing in her mind. Dean could tell from the way her brows were knitted slightly and her lips were pursed and he frowned slightly before he stroked a thumb over her cheek, his fingers brushing over her jaw. "What are you thinking about?"

Her fingers stopped moving on his chest and she laid her palm over the tattoo before she tilted her head back and looked up at him. "I'm broken," she said before she went back to her previous position with her cheek pressed firmly against his chest and her eyes staring at his shoulder.

Dean frowned deeply and let his hand rest on her cheek as he thought on her words. He had nothing and he tapped her chin to tilt her head back, "You want to try that one again?"

She didn't budge and she spoke against his chest as she said, "I'm broken. Cas said it himself."

"When did you speak to Cas?"

"Last week."

Dean nodded his head and stroked his fingers through her hair. "And he just said it? He say how? Why?"

Charlotte shrugged and Dean felt the last few hours of joy escape him. The excitement they'd had was gone and he couldn't stop the worry from clawing its way up his chest. When Charlotte spoke her voice was monotone and Dean seriously hated to think exactly was going through her mind. "Something's wrong with me, Dean. Those nightmares, they, they mean something. I practically begged Cas to tell me what was happening." Her brows knitted together as she carried on and Dean kept moving his fingers through her hair, needing to keep himself busy, "He did this, this thing, he- he touched my soul. Said that I'm broken and that I can't be fixed."

Dean stopped his fingers and put two fingers underneath her chin to force her head back so that she looked up at him. Her eyes refused to obey and Dean whispered, "Char, look at me." It took a long few seconds before she dared to eye him and he offered her a small smile. "We'll fix this," he mumbled quietly, "I promise. We have to."

Something close to fear and denial flicked through Charlotte's eyes and Dean felt his heart beat a little faster. "We can't," she whispered and Dean felt his stomach give as her voice cracked on that second work. "I-" She looked away and Dean had to force her to look back up at him with the two fingers still underneath her chin. "Something's missing in my soul," she said, her voice casting doubt on those words. She slowly shook her head and chewed on her bottom lip before she spoke again, "Cas said that something was missing, he couldn't exactly tell what but he said that I- I don't know, Dean, I'm just- I'm-"

Dean shook his head, the words still going through his mind. It didn't make sense, how could it make sense that she was missing something in her soul? He didn't understand it but he wanted to believe that it didn't matter. He wanted to believe that he didn't care, and he used his free hand to lightly tug on her arm. "Come here," he whispered, pulling her up his chest. She shifted up and he pulled her down for a simple press of his lips to hers. He wanted to convey in that one kiss that it didn't matter, that they'd get through this, they'd find a solution. And that if they couldn't find a solution that he didn't care, he wasn't going to get rid of her anytime soon and he planned to go down swinging with her if that needed to happen. He tried to tell her this through the hard press of his mouth and he relaxed when he felt her shoulders begin to sag and he cupped her cheek with his hand. He was scared for what her words meant, for what Cas had said, but they'd faced a lot of things and this, he was going to treat it as just another thing that they had to deal with, just another job. "We'll fix this," he whispered. When he opened his eyes again he found Charlotte's face streaked in tears. His heart ached at the sight and he stroked his thumb over her cheek, wiping away some of the tears that still continued to fall. "We'll fix this okay?"

"What if we can't?" she whispered, her voice cracking with each syllable.

"Don't," he begged quietly, "don't say that, not you. Okay? We _will_ fix this, just like we'll ice the Devil, just like we'll save the world, we'll fix this."

"Dean-" she whispered, disbelief warring across her features.

"Char," he whispered back, "we'll fix this. Believe me."

Her bottom lip quivered for a moment before she whispered, "I want to."

He closed his eyes and tried to calm the emotions rolling through his own head as he said, "Charlo-"

"I don't even wake up from the nightmares I have anymore. I just- I let them happen. They don't scare me as much as they should. I'm still terrified to go to sleep, but I've stopped waking up from them! I want to believe you, Dean, I do. But I don't know how we can fix this. I don't even know what this is, and neither does an angel of the lord."

Dean stared at her, his teeth ground together. So he hadn't thought through it, so he didn't know where they were going to start, that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He had no idea what he was going to say when he opened his mouth, but he didn't expect the following words to tumble from his mouth with just a hint of anger, "So you're giving up. Is that what you're saying?"

Her brows furrowed and her lips parted as she shook her head, "N-No I-"

"Well shut up." She clamped her mouth shut and Dean wrapped one arm around her shoulders as he held her close to him, "And listen to me. We will fix this. Okay, we will. What? You think I can get rid of you now? I couldn't live without you even if I tried. You've been around for far too long for me to just give up on you, for me to just accept whatever crap is going on. So, whilst we're trying to find a way to kill Lucifer, whilst we're trying to figure out a way to save the world, I'm going to figure out a way to save you. I don't care what it takes, how long it takes, but I promise you, we'll fix it." Fresh tears had started down Charlotte's face and Dean wanted to cry himself. "I love you," he said slowly and Charlotte ducked her head. Dean grabbed her chin and brought her face back up to look at him. He smiled the best that he could and repeated those three words. "I love you, Charlotte. Til death do us part remember?"

Charlotte snorted and pressed her head to Dean's chest. "You're an asshole," she whispered against his skin and Dean couldn't stop his smile from widening. She looked back up at him and nodded her head, "I love you too."

"Good," he whispered and he kissed the top of her head with a small sigh, trying to ignore the pain that filled his chest. He tried to brush it under the rug and pulled Charlotte further against him, wrapping both of his arms around her. They would find a way out of this, they had to.

* * *

**Answers:**

**Lexi: **Don't worry about it, I'm sorry I made your sister give you a weird look. Balthazar, I'm trying to imagine it now and I'm giggling. I have something already in mind with Charlie, if I go through with it, things will be pretty interesting. I was using the SPN Wiki timeline for this story however there are times where it hasn't had dates so I've had to guess and make my own assumptions. Looking back on the last few chapters I realise I've made a small mistakes time wise, but it'll be fine. I do try to stick to it the best that I can, but I've been used to there not being dates so that's an oops on my part. Both of them have long hair, Charlotte does have longer hair and Natalie's is more middle-long length (if that makes sense).

**Elle:** Trust me, there's a long way to go before we find out exactly what's wrong with her. What pushed Charlotte to become a hunter? Honestly, since her mother died her father started hunting and it was just around her so she became aware of it and wanted to learn more about it. When her father died, it probably did push her a little more but the fact that she grew up at Bobby's, again, around more hunting stuff, it just became a fact of life for her that hunting was something she needed to do. Her family had been killed by monsters and it seemed unfair for anybody else to go through what she had gone through.

The personality for Charlotte, when I started I just thought to myself, "What would Dean be like as a girl?" and kinda wrote her in that kind of sense. She has a lot of similar traits to Dean because that's how I originally wrote her and it's just kinda stuck that way. It's kinda way she's so open about sex, porn, being blunt and rude and likes beer so much and broods. Female Dean.

For Natalie I wanted to write somebody who looked as though they shouldn't be a Hunter. Kind of like Bela, in the sense that she hasn't fallen into the hunter trope of "drink beer, hustle pool, bleak outlook on life" kinda deal. I wanted somebody who was kind of the opposite of Charlotte and looked as though she should have never met her never mind be friends with her and this is how I've been trying to write her.

**JayWinchester:** Not sure I actually answered this last time, but you said you wanted a spoiler for the french mistake episode. Charlotte's actor, will not get along with Jensen. That is all I'm going to give you.


	52. 2009 July part 2

**A/N:** Hey guys, the next chapter will have more Sam and Dean in it, I promise. In fact, there'll be a lot more Sam and Dean in the future because of the episodes I want to write. Season 5 has a lot of good episodes apparently. Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think. The next end!verse chapter will be up on Thursday.

I'm sorry for how late this is, I worked a double today and was learning some new things. Enjoy.

* * *

2009 - July

Part 2

Charlotte couldn't stop tapping her thigh, second guessing this idea. Her mind had been stuck, running circles on the same things; Lucifer, Matt, Sam, Dean, her deal, Bobby, Natalie, Trickster, Anna. It hurt her head to do nothing but think and she'd spent most of her free time reading through some of Bobby's more obscure books, looking for anything to give her an answer. Eventually, she'd found some old dusty books that held some obscure spells and one of them made reference to 'God's soldiers'.

She'd scrawled it down, gathered everything she'd needed and some extra supplies, just in case, picked up the angel blade she still had lying around and made her way to a quiet area where she knew nobody would interrupt her. On the following page in the book was a list of summoning sigils for different 'soldiers' and she'd skipped them all until she'd found one in particular.

Everything was all set up, ready, waiting, all she had to do was light a match and burn the ingredients. That was it, light one match. One match. The box had been staring up at her, waiting for her to do just that, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to do that. There was a part of her that was stopping her and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and a second, and a third, before she opened her eyes again. Nothing had changed, including the racing of her heart and she grabbed the box with a heavy sigh.

"It'll be fine," she whispered to herself, "it'll be fine. Everything, for once, might go…." she trailed off, unable to pretend to believe the words herself and she groaned, scrubbing a hand over her face. "Okay," she mumbled, popping the box open, "I can do this."

"What are you doing?"

She jumped, her heart pounding against her chest and she dropped the box of matches to the floor. She turned to glare at the Trickster, who stared innocently back at her with raised brows and his arms folded over his chest. "What do you want?"

He shrugged his shoulders and unfolded his arms. "I was bored, figured I'd come see what you were doing." He walked over to her and leaned his elbows on the small table she'd set up, his eyes taking in the spell. He raised his brows and looked up at her, "_That_'s what you're doing?"

She elbowed his shoulder and he shifted an inch over. "What do you want?"

"Weren't you listening the first time?"

She glared at him and picked the box up off the floor along with two matches. "You know what I'm asking."

He clicked his tongue before he stood up and clapped his hands together, "Well, I should leave you-"

"You go anywhere and I'll send a prayer to every angel that you're here." He stopped and she held her breath, not knowing herself where she was going with this. He turned to face her and she took in a slow breath before she said, "Why?" There was silence for several seconds before Trickster shook his head and she kicked herself, "Why are you here? Why me? Why do you care?"

Another silence filled the air and Charlotte stared at him, trying to figure him out. He was a mystery that she couldn't put her finger on.

Eventually he sighed, pursed his lips and glanced away. When he flicked his gaze back to her he looked dangerous and Charlotte almost flinched from that look alone, "I _don't _care, per se, I just have a vested interest in what happens because it'll affect _me_."

Charlotte stared at him, her lips parted slightly and she frowned. After a moment she closed her mouth and her frown twisted into a glare. "How it'll affect _you_?" She took a step towards him before she scoffed and shook her head. "You know, you're not that different to the other angels. You're a pretentious dick just like them. Do us both a favour, and just fuck off. I'm tired of dealing with shit that doesn't even matter."

She made a start to turn, already pushing him to the back of her mind when he grabbed her arm and twisted her around to stare at him. "I know, better than anyone, what'll happen if my brothers start a war. I know exactly what'll happen, and no offence, _sweetheart, _but I'm not interested in letting that happen."

Charlotte frowned, her mind picking up on one word, "Brothers?"

Trickster gave her a look as though she was stating the most obvious thing in the world, "Michael? Lucifer? You know, the big two wanting to fight it out?"

"Brothers?" she repeated. Her mind couldn't stop picking up on that little snippet along with him knowing 'exactly' what they'd do. "Archangels," she mumbled without realising it and she focused her gaze on Trickster. That word had struck something within him and she started to think. Lucifer, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, depending on which part of the bible you read, they were the four archangels. "Raphael?" she whispered, watching him carefully and she noted nothing and went with her second option, "Gabriel?" If she wasn't looking for it she wouldn't have seen the slight shift in the muscles in his jaw and she raised her brows. "So you're Gabriel? As in, the _archangel_, Gabriel."

"Unless you happen to know any other Gabriel."

She opened her mouth but nothing came out and she frowned. _Was he- what?_ Charlotte couldn't wrap her head around that one little fact and she felt her mouth flail open and closed before she blurted, "You're a fucking archangel?" Gabriel stared at her for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and she glared. "You. Son. Of. A. Bitch."

"Hey now! Watch your mouth," he said, his tone touching on playful, "I can be a very bad boy."

She stared at him for several seconds before she frowned and held a hand up, "Okay, fine, you don't like how heaven do things. I get that, but you still haven't answered my question. Why. Me? I'm _nobody_."

"Exactly!" Gabriel said with a grin. Charlotte opened her mouth, feeling insulted but Gabriel beat her to it. "You're a nobody. You _should_ be a nobody, but you're a somebody. Everybody talks about the Winchester's as though they're It. The big boys to look out for." He tutted as he smirked, stepping closer to her, "But you!" He laughed and clapped his hands together. "You're not a Winchester, but you might as well be. Well, you are, but technicality aside, nobody thinks about you because you're not Sam or Dean! And _that_," he paused and Charlotte took this moment to stare at him, not following where this was going, "that is what everybody forgets. You're there for everything, you're on the edge of everyone's vision, but not quite in it. Sure, you piss people off here and there, but sooner or later," his changed to annoyance and exasperation, "it's _Sam_ this, _Dean_ that."

"Uh huh," she mumbled, taking a hesitant step back.

"Lucy wants to ride Sam, Mikey wants to ride Dean, you want to ride Dean in all of the fun ways." She frowned at that and opened her mouth but again, Gabriel beat her to it. "Everybody's looking at them, but nobody's looking at _you_."

She stared at him, and stared, and stared. Finally she blinked and said a resounding, "No."

Gabriel didn't say anything for a few seconds. "No? No what?"

She pointed a finger in his direction, "Whatever you want from me, the answers no."

"Charlotte, baby-"

"Don't call me baby."

"-what makes you think-"

"Everybody wants something! I ain't buying it."

"Not even for a _chance_ to stop Lucy?"

She scoffed, "The only way I'm going to stop him-"

"You can't kill him." Gabriel shrugged, "Sorry. But you just can't, and those aren't _my_ rules. They're Gods."

"Yeah? Well God's not around."

"Okay, well _how_, would you kill him?" Charlotte glared at Gabriel, her lips curled into a snarl. After a few moments she smirked and pulled out the angel blade that was in the back of her jeans. She held it up for him to see and watched him eye it and her with an interested look. "I know this works on angels and archangels are still angels right?"

There was silence for a few moments before he said, "You're not as dumb as you look." She rolled her eyes and turned back to the table. "What do you get out of summoning Azrael?"

Charlotte glared at the opposite wall before she turned back to face Gabriel. "Answers maybe?"

He gave her a look that told her he didn't believe that, and neither did she. She was clutching at straws. He'd done whatever it was he'd done, he knew inside out what was wrong with her, what was missing, but she knew deep down he wouldn't tell her what or why. But she hoped, that's all she had at the moment, hope that they'd stop Lucifer, hope that they'd stop the apocalypse, that Bobby would walk again, that Sam and Dean would be fine, that the angels would leave them alone. Hope.

And she hated hope.

"Charlotte-"

"Don't," she said. "I've got _nothing_ else, so you either help me out for once, or leave." Somehow, despite knowing exactly what was going to happen, Charlotte still felt disappointed when he left and she let out a sigh. She ran a hand over her face and glanced back at the table. Everything was exactly where she left it and she bit her lip. She really did have nothing else and she sighed before she shook her head, "Screw it. I've already died at least once." She grabbed the matches lit them and hesitated before she dropped them into the bowl.

Now all she had to do was wait and she felt her heart race again.

She spent her time pacing the length of the room, her mind jumping from her new discovery that the Trickster was Gabriel, the archangel and direct brother to Lucifer and Michael to what he'd been saying about her. Maybe he did have a point, maybe there was a way to use that to her advantage... or maybe her was using her for his own need.

"Well, well," a voice cut through her thoughts and the fear she'd felt before was nothing compared to the paralysing dread that froze her to the spot, "haven't you grown up." Goosebumps prickled her arms and the back of her neck and regret filled her up. Slowly, she swallowed past the awkward lump in her throat and turned to stare at the face she hadn't seen in twenty three years. Azrael smirked at her and she couldn't bring herself to move from the spot she'd frozen in. He raised a brow at her and took a step in her direction, "What's the matter? Have you lost your voice?" He chuckled darkly and Charlotte felt a fresh wave of fear rush over her, "You're afraid, and you've got every reason to be afraid."

She was looking death in the face and she wished she'd listened to Gabriel.

* * *

**Answers:**

**JayWinchester:** Don't worry about it! Don't panic. They have their moments. Charlotte simply knew _of_ John more than anything. She'd see him in passing, either when Dean and Sam was dropped off at Bobby's or picked up or she was dropped off. It was always brief and anything she learnt about him was through Sam and Dean and, inevitably, she compared him to her own father. As to respecting him, she tried, she understands that he's their father, but other than that, she doesn't really know him much and didn't have a lot of reason to like or hate him. Lots of reasons to dislike him (Sam liked to bitch and moan and Dean would then bitch and moan about Sam and their Dad).

Sam did harbour a little crush on Charlotte when they were younger. Part of that was down to how close they were and how much Sam could relate to Charlotte and vice versa. But the older they got the more he realised that she was entirely different to him – he liked school work, she liked to bunk off, he wanted to study, she wanted to work on cars etc.

Exact age for Charlotte and Dean liking each other? No. I think it's more of a case that it just kinda happened. Dean acknowledges when he's 17 that he didn't like seeing Charlotte with another guy, but at the time Charlotte wasn't playing ball. When he was 19 (she was 16) she teased him in order to provoke him into doing something – kissing her – so I guess around those years they kinda wanted to make out with one another, probably more to see what it was like and if there was anything there. (They spent a lot of the years afterwards pissed at each other) and they had a lot of sexual frustration. Their more serious feeling for each other crept along when he was 23 and she 20, kind of.

**Lexi:** Don't tell them that.

**Brandibuckeye:** There's more to come.


	53. 2009 July part 3

**A/N:** Hey guys! So I've created a tumblr for this series (kiddycorral dot tumblr dot com), it contains links to all the stories and the characters along with bios for them. It's not finished, but I've done a lot already and when I get the chance I'll do some more. So, please, check it out. There will be more when I get the chance.

* * *

2009 – July 

Part 3

Charlotte's mouth slowly worked open, but nothing came out and she slowly closed it again, her eyes begging her to look away from him. Submission started to tingle in her bones and she had to shake every scared fibre of her being to keep her eyes locked on Azrael's dark brown eyes. He was smirking at her, taunting her with nothing but silence and she fought the urge to look away.

She certainly couldn't move, except to follow him with her eyes as he slowly started to pace the room in one long, slow arc, inching closer towards each with each step. "I must say, summoning me? I'm surprised, but you're just full of surprises aren't you?" She pursed her lips tightly, unable to think of anything to say and he took her silence as an agreement with a chuckle. "Now that warding you've got inside of you?" He was still walking towards her and she glanced down at her chest briefly. When she looked back up he was right in front of her face, eyes narrowed into spiteful, murderous slits as he studied her. She almost backed down, almost. "That isn't just any warding," he whispered and she felt him put a hand upon her shoulder, "and I'm just _dying_ to know who put that there."

Her brain kicked into gear and she hunched her shoulders and stepped back just as his other arm came up. Charlotte's hand moved to grab the blade that she still had stashed in the band of her jeans and she held it out to her side tightly. She licked her lips and finally found her voice, "Watch where you put that." It was a little more than a whisper and nowhere near to how threatening she wanted to sound, but it was a start in getting her talking.

Azrael paused before he let his hands drop by his side and laughed. "You remember me," his lips curled into an echo of a dangerous smirk as he took a slow step forward. She ground her teeth together and almost took one back. Almost. He laughed again and she tightened her grip on the blade. "You remember everything."

"Let's make this quick," she started, her voice a little stronger and she straightened her back a touch, "or I'll change my mind about letting you walk out of here, unharmed." She offered him a tight smile and tried to keep her voice level and a little on the hard side as she went on. "Now, we both know that you liked to play with my soul. But I've got a couple of questions and you're going to answer them."

He quirked one brow at her, his lips unchanging from their smirk as he almost scoffed out, "Or you'll kill me?" She didn't want to think about the shiver that ran down her spine. There was disbelief in his words and she hated to really think about what that meant for her own safety. He clucked his tongue once and seemed to put his weight on the heels of his feet as he held his hands up, "I'll humour you. Please, ask away."

She had to blink at him four times before she moved, taking a step to one side as she glanced at him. "First question, what the fuck did you do to me? I haven't been right since then, and I want to know why?"

Azrael's lips twitched into a small laugh and he ducked his head as his shoulders shook. "Why? Because it was my job?" She stared at him, her eyes narrowed as she waited for him to go on. He didn't waste any time in continuing. "Everybody wanted to know about the girl who's Father was an Angel. What you were capable of, what you would become, how it affected you." He took a slow, measured step towards her and Charlotte took a step of her own, both of them letting themselves make a slow walk around the other. "But nobody wanted to get their hands _that_ dirty."

The smirk had never left his lips and Charlotte swallowed nervously. "So, what? You touched my soul? Repeatedly?" There was something not right with that statement and she frowned with a small shake of her head, "Then what?"

"Charlotte," Azrael started and his steps started to close the distance between them. She watched his feet and flicked her eyes to his face, her hand gripping the blade in her hand tightly. "I want to give you a little lesson." Her frown darkened and she felt an invisible force shove her back, off her feet and against the nearest wall. She fell into a heap and hissed as she felt blood wet the back of her head. She didn't know when, but suddenly Azrael was in front of her, picking her up by her shoulder and slamming her straight back into the wall, her head bouncing off the wall again. His other hand gripped her chin and he moved her head to look at him. She managed to blink her eyes open and glare as he started talking again, his tone chastising and mocking, "Next time you want to summon someone, have a way to trap them." He shrugged nonchalantly and tapped a finger against her chest, "Otherwise? You're in a lot of trouble."

She growled at him and felt that familiar shift within her. She kicked a leg at him, catching the side of his knee and making him stumble slightly. "Screw you," she muttered before she lifted an elbow, catching Azrael in the side of his head. He let go of her shoulder then and she shoved her hands against his chest, pushing him back a couple of steps. "I've had enough of you fuckers," she growled out before she stepped forward and lifted a leg to kick him in his stomach, making him double over.

Azrael laughed throughout the small exchange, "Oh Charlotte," he mocked again. He lifted his head to show her the mirth in his eyes. "You really believe you can do something." He sounded sad _for_ her as he said those words and she wasted no time in throwing a punch up across his cheek before she turned and grabbed the blade she'd let slide from her grip. When she turned back around Azrael was stood back up, running a thumb across his bottom lip that had a smear of blood across it. There was a single cut to his cheek and Charlotte watched him grin before the blood and the wound disappeared and his eyes locked onto her. "Angel," he teased before she felt something invisible grip at her heart and squeeze. She fell to her knees, her free hand on her chest as she planted her other on the floor. "I should've killed you all those years ago. Done us all a favour and rid this world of one more stain."

Her head was jerked up by a hand on her chin and she felt her heart tighten a little more and her breaths came out in raspy gasps. "So," she choked out, "why didn't you?"

He chuckled again and the invisible hand around her heart tightened a little more. The edges of Charlotte's vision started to colour black and she tried her hardest to focus on the dangerous brown eyes that were watching her mercilessly. "An experiment," he mumbled with a shrug, "to see what you would do." His features darkened and Charlotte felt her grip on consciousness slipping along with the blade. "And you've done too much," he growled and the invisible force around her heart tightened imperceptibly, making her gasp and choke on each tiny breath. "Goodbye Charlotte," he said.

The world started to turn black and she felt something else happen to her, something strange. It felt as though she was floating, as though she was still here but not quite. The world had gone black but she was aware of her body still struggling to breathe and the weight of her chin in Azrael's hand, but there was a tiny shiver in his hand that shook her chin slightly. Faintly, in a quiet whisper, she heard a female voice say, "I don't think so."

"Impossible," he whispered back and she felt his hand slip from her chin and she dropped into that dark unconscious pit.

When she woke up, three things caught her attention. One, her head throbbed, painfully. She could barely keep her eyes open without wincing and hissing at the slight spin the room took on. Second, her phone was buzzing in her pocket. The third she noticed was that her fingers screamed in agony and just by feeling alone she could tell that at least two of her fingers were busted. As awareness started to slowly creep back to her, she noticed a fourth and final thing, that something sticky and wet coated her hands and she jerked her head up, making her groan. Once she was sure she could keep her eyes open for longer than thirty seconds, she looked at her eyes and felt her whole body freeze. Both hands were coated in thick, red blood. It looked as though she'd shoved her hands in a bucket of the stuff and she ignored any protests her body made to twist onto her back and sit up, her hands in front of her.

Three small drops of blood fell onto her jeans and she couldn't turn her eyes away as she watched two rivulets begin to slowly drip down her arms. "What the fuck?!" she whispered in shocked fear and she finally let her eyes wander to the rest of the room. There was a trail of blood, leading from where her hands had been to a body, slumped onto the floor, a thick pool of red surrounding it.

She swallowed and told herself that it couldn't be, that there was no way. She felt her bottom lip quiver in fear as she crawled over to the body. Her fingers protested and she pushed the broken joints to the back of her mind. She needed to know. She reached a hand out and grabbed the body's shoulder, pulling it over to face her and she stared, mouth open in shock.

Azrael.

His blank eyes stared up at her. But it wasn't his blank expression that caused her concern. What made her stare and made her own blood run cold was the marks and wounds he had that covered his body. It looked as though he'd been butchered and her eyes drifted slightly past him to the blade that was slick with blood just as well. "The fuck happened?" she cried to herself, panic welling up inside of her.

She climbed to her feet, her hands held out in front of her and the pain in two fingers came back to the front of her mind. Charlotte stared at her hands, eyes wide with fear and panic. She didn't know what to do and the buzzing in her pocket made her stare at the front of her jeans. Her eyes drifted back to her hands and she felt a tear slide down her face. She was afraid and she stumbled back until she hit the table she'd used to summon Azrael and more tears worked their way down her face.

"Gabr-" she choked out the first name that came to mind before she fell back to the floor, her shoulders shaking. If anybody walked in now, they'd assume it was her and she knew that her prints were all over the blade. But she'd been out cold, down for the count. How the hell did her hands get caked in his blood and she held her hands up in front of her, almost hoping the blood would just disappear.

"Whoa," Gabriel said and Charlotte's eye flitted around the room until they landed on the set of amber eyes that flicked from her to Azrael's body. "Sweetheart," he whispered, stepping over to her.

"I didn't-"

He held his hands up to her as he slowed his steps to a crawl and tilted his head slightly. "Hey, hey, look at me." She stared up at him with wide eyes, her bottom lip still shaking. It made no sense to her and her mind couldn't come up with a convincing argument to what had gone on. "There we go," he encouraged as he crouched down to her level. He held a hand out, just inches away from her, and said, "Let's get you out of here, cleaned up, fixed, and we'll go from there. Okay?"

Her breathing started to calm down as she repeated his words. Out of here. Cleaned. Fixed. Out. Cleaned. Fixed. She nodded her head slowly and started to reach out for his hand. The red blood that still covered her hands made her hesitate and start to withdraw her hand back towards herself. "A little blood never hurt me," he said before he reached out, grabbed her wrist and in the next moment she was seated on a lumpy bed. In the next moment the blood was gone and she had full control of all ten fingers, none of the, bruised or broken. "Stay here," he waved a finger in front of her face and she fixed her gaze on it. Somehow, it helped her stay grounded and slowly the chaos in her mind started to fade. Her phone buzzed again and it snapped her out of her trance to pull her phone from her pocket. "Ah, ah," Gabriel said and he snatched it from her hand, "my room my rules. No phones. No brothers. No husbands or boyfriends. You sit, and wait."

Then he was gone and Charlotte was alone. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around at the room. It was the same as every other motel room she'd ever stayed in, except there were empty candy wrappers here and there along with at least three different pairs of women's underwear. She frowned and shook her head before she tried to think through the last few things that happened.

Azrael was killing her. She was dying. She was supposed to be dead. Then somebody, somebody _'impossible'_ made him stop, made sure she was alive. But then she'd woken up with blood on her own hands and two fingers broken, every knuckle feeling as though it had gone through ten rounds with somebody's face.

She took in a shaky breath and rubbed her hands over her face. It just didn't make sense, none of it did.

* * *

**Answers:**

**Lexi:** Charlotte's a hate 'em first maybe like them later kind of girl. Enjoy this new mystery and I will let you know that there's going to be more interactions between them after this little bit of drama.

**JayWinchester:** I had a lot of fun writing that line. Charlotte's bisexuality wasn't planned, it came around later on and I figured that it would be excellent to have to just toy around with Dean with. Charlotte would make jokes about women and Dean would get 'really' interested. It's also going to come into play later on, but I'm not going to say anything more on the matter. How did the decision come about to make her bisexual? It came about in a throw away comment in Kiddy Corral when she was on a hunt with Jo. I added it in on a whim and liked the idea of it and it stuck.


	54. 2009 July part 4

**A/N:** I'm sorry that it's a little shorter than normal, but the next few chapters should make up for it. Enjoy.

2009 – July

Part 4

Charlotte had spent her time alone thinking, trying to piece together what had happened. It had felt as though she'd been punching somebody, over and over again. She'd broken two fingers, that fact alone made her worried for exactly why she'd felt the need to punch somebody until that had happened. She couldn't help but to run a thumb across the tops of her knuckles, still being able to faintly feel the broken skin and bones. She jumped to her feet and shook her hands out, making her way directly to the bathroom.

_Impossible_.

That was the last thing Charlotte had heard Azrael say before she blacked out. What? What had been impossible about her? Every time she tried to think of something, she could only think of one thing, her angel side, the Nephilim her. But that wasn't new to him, or impossible. So what was?

She grabbed the edge of the sink and frowned at her reflection in the mirror. She looked normal, like herself and she shook her head before she turned the water on and ran her hands underneath the tap. She cupped some water and splashed it over her face a couple of times with a sigh. She clutched the edge of the sink again and stared at herself in the mirror. With another sigh at the mystery she couldn't wrap her head around, she turned to look for a towel and stared at the one that was being held out to her. Charlotte that held to the owner and took the offered towel with a mumble of, "Thanks, Gabriel." She could feel him staring at her and she ignored his gaze as she started to wipe her face dry.

"How you holding up kid?" She dropped the towel into the sink with a raised brow at him and he held his hands up. "Well, as long as you're not crying anymore, I'll take that."

"Fuck you," she grumbled as she shoved past his shoulder back into the motel room.

"Well, if you want." She fell onto the bed and threw herself back, slinging one arm over her eye She heard him sigh before the bed dipped and she shifted her arm to peer up at Gabriel, perched on the edge of the bed. He looked down at her and tilted his head, "Want me to level with you kid?" Charlotte nodded her head once and pulled her arm away to sit up, her arms wrapped around her bent knees. Gabriel nodded his head, "Okay, well, first things first, it looks like _you_ killed Azrael. Now, I didn't know the guy so I have no hard feelings. Others might, but please, try not to go killing every angel you meet?"

"You're still alive," she muttered glumly.

"And I'd like to keep it that way." He grinned at her and Charlotte found it impossible to bring herself to smile. Gabriel raised a brow at her and teased, "You're no fun after you've killed someone."

"Gabriel," she pleaded tiredly, rubbing a hand over her face, "please, just, get to the point."

He held a hand up before he rolled his eyes. "Fine, something else is wrong with you, other than you being half angel and Azzy breaking your soul, it's something more than that and to be honest, it's a little worrying."

Charlotte frowned, her eyes fixed on Gabriel's face for any sigh that he was lying to her. That pit of worry in her stomach started to grow a little more and she bit the inside of her cheek. "Different how?" she whispered, all strength to argue with him gone.

He shrugged, "That, I can't tell you until I see it happen."

Charlotte ducked her head with a groan and wrapped an arm over her head. After a few moments she lifted her head and ran her hand through her hair. "Fine, whatever, give me my phone." Gabriel raised a brow at her and she challenged his look with a matching one. "Do you want Dean and Sam to start tearing up the world looking for me?" He seemed to contemplate this for a moment before he sighed and relinquished her phone, pressing it back into her hand. "Thank you," she mumbled before she looked at the display. Seven missed calls from Dean, five from Sam, twelve from Bobby and three from Natalie. "Great," she grumbled and she quickly dismissed them before she dared to open her messages:

_Dean:_

_**Where the hell are you?**_

_**Charlotte?**_

_**Answer your damn phone!**_

_**Char? **_

_**Babe?**_

_Sam:_

_**It's been three days, Dean's going crazy. Where are you?**_

_**Please tell me you're alright.**_

_Natalie:_

_**I swear to God if you've gotten yourself killed I'm going to find you and kill you again.**_

_**Charlotte, please**_

_**Be okay**_

"Great," she whispered to herself and she decided to call Dean first.

He picked up on the second ring with a yell of, "Char? Where the fuck have you been? Please tell me you're okay? You're okay right? Jesus fucking Christ, don't-"

"Dean!" She could feel him clamp his mouth shut and she smiled tightly to herself, "I'm fine. I'm okay."

"Three days," he whispered and Charlotte ducked her head as she bit down on her bottom lip. "Where the fuck have you been?"

She shrugged and lifted her gaze to watch Gabriel stand up and grab a sweet from a bowl of sweets she was certain hadn't been there five minutes ago. "I was looking into something."

"Alone? Without a word?"

"I'm a big girl," she argued back before she sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. I got caught up in what I was doing and my phone's battery died."

There was a pause where Charlotte could swear she could feel Dean giving her a look through the phone. "You-" he sighed and she screwed her eyes shut. There was no way she was telling him about this, not until she knew _all_ of the facts. "Alright, fine. You sure you good?"

"I'm fine. I'm in one piece, alive. I'm good."

There was a few moments of silence before Dean gave a frustrated sigh, "What were you even doing?"

Charlotte sighed and pinched her eyes shut. The last thing she needed was Dean prodding into everything she wanted to forget. "I was," she started, the lie already forming on her tongue, "running a lead down on Matt. I was kinda hoping he'd be able to help us out, but it was a bust. I still don't know where he is."

There was a brief pause before Dean seemed to relent with a murmur of, "Sorry to hear that."

Guilt started to tug at Charlotte's heart and she nodded her head, "Yeah, it's fine. Look, I'll head back in a day, clean things up here."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few. Next time-"

"Stay in contact," she finished with a tiny smile, "I know. Go on." Dean said goodbye once more before the line went dead and Charlotte sighed, knocking her head against her knee with a groan.

"You two have a messed up relationship."

Charlotte lifted her head to glare at Gabriel. "Why?"

He gave her a look as he started to unwrap another sweet. "Why? You just lied like it was nothing."

She rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "You can't judge anybody, _archangel_."

"Touche," he said.

Charlotte stood up and moved to stand on the opposite side of the counter to Gabriel and watched him pick at a couple more sweets before she spoke up, "Are you sure you can't fix this?" she waved at herself, "whatever it is?"

"Sweetheart," he started, "I don't know what _it_ is. I wouldn't know where to start."

She nodded her head and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, okay, fine." She took a breath and straightened up slightly. She looked around the room and clucked her tongue before she looked back at Gabriel, "Can you erm, take me back to my car?"

He smirked mischievously up at her and raised a hand she watched him click his fingers and a moment later she was stood by her car. She had to turn in a circle to see if she was alone and she let out a breath before she leaned against the side of her car, her forehead pressed against the cool roof. For once, she wanted her life to run smoothly. For once, she wanted everything to be straight forward and she groaned in frustration to herself before she climbed into her car and turned the engine on, her finger already scrolling through the list of contacts in her phone. She found Matt's number and tapped her finger against the phone a couple of times before she shook her head. That was something else she couldn't be bothered to deal with right now and she concentrated on driving back to the salvage yard and getting back in one piece.

* * *

**Answers:**

**SeverusSnape'sLove: **Hi there! And thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story and Gabriel is going to be back after this little segment.

**Lexi:** Trust me, it's going to get better with her powers. *wink * And she was always going to end up with Dean, no matter what, it's just that her being bisexual means that she's going to tease Dean with stories of her and other women.

**JayWinchester:** I am saying nothing more and I'm so happy you checked the Tumblr out. Now, why was Charlotte was angry with the world? Well, in her eyes, monsters had killed both her parents, it felt as though she was never getting a break from the hunting life and that in general, everything just sucked. In her eyes, they were always getting the short end of the stick and she was tired of it and wanted that to change.

**Guest (Elle?): **Changing channels is a definite yes. That is happening. It's impossible for me to skip that episode. The difference between Char's relationship with Jo and Nat is that with Jo, she treats her more as a little sister, somebody she wants to look after and somebody who's naive and innocent. With Nat, who is older than Char, she treats her like a best friend and somebody who she can tease a lot more than Jo.

That is definitely a possibility in 2003. There is a lot of stuff that happens along the sidelines that doesn't appear in the storyline, simply because I'm trying to cover long periods of time.


	55. 2009 August

**A/N:** So, 3 thousand words happened. Enjoy.

**Skendo:** That's just me being an idiot. My apologies. It's fixed now.

2009 – August

"Did any of you think this through first? Or did you all just jump in expecting a century old witch to just roll over for you?"

Charlotte stared at the three men in front of her. Bobby was busy glaring at her and avoiding her direct line of sight. Dean huffed and folded his arms over his chest with a slight wheeze whilst Sam suddenly found the floor interesting. Dean and Sam had called to tell her that they were hunting a Witch that was taking people's lives through poker, Sam dropping the bomb that Bobby _and_ Dean had tried to make seperate bargains: Bobby to walk and Dean to save Bobby. Both had lost and she'd told Sam not to do anything until she got there.

Now she was staring at an eighty year old Dean Winchester, seventy-five year old Sam Winchester and the same Bobby she'd last seen. Dean had waved twenty-five years of his life for Bobby straight away and that information alone had made her want to throttle and hug Dean.

"Oh come on," Dean started, "you run off all the time and do stupid things!"

"And one of us currently can't eat burgers or climb three flights of stairs."

Dean opened his mouth for a moment before he grumbled at her and looked away.

"We tried reversing the spell and that didn't work," Sam mumbled before he coughed a couple of times and rubbed a hand over his chest.

"Obviously," she deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sam's bitch face was still obvious and he held a hand up, "What were we supposed to do? Just walk away?"

"Come up with a better plan than the _worst_ poker player in the world going against him!"

"That was our best plan," Dean mumbled quietly.

Charlotte groaned and glared at the ceiling. "How," she started quietly, "does that make this any better?"

"Enough horseshit," Bobby started and Charlotte's gaze snapped to him. "I said it before and I'll say it again, I've played him once I know his style. I can beat his ass this time."

"We went over this earlier," Dean spoke up, "it's not happening."

"I've got nothing to lose."

Charlotte waved a hand towards Sam and Dean, "And neither do these idiots. You think they should gamble what they've got left too?"

"Of course not!"

"Then it's not happening!"

"So what? You're going to gamble your life instead?"

Charlotte sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we can't kill him because that won't reverse the spell. You tried the reversing spell once so he'll expect that again. We've got nothing else."

"No," Dean said and he stood up, "that is definitely not happening."

"Why?"

"Because."

She raised her brows at him and he held her gaze. After a few moments she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with a frown. "Fine, let me, let me make a phone call. Figure something out."

"Who are you going to call?" Dean started before he narrowed his eyes at her and seemed to gag at his next thought, "Crowley?"

Charlotte shook her head with a grimace. "No. Jeez, anybody would think you're jealous of a demon," she grumbled before she held her hands up and looked towards the room, "just, none of you go anywhere and do something stupid." She turned on her heels and left the motel room. Once she was outside she let out a breath and mumbled quietly, "Jesus fucking Christ." She had one hope before their last resort. One chance of anything getting them out of this before they were all doomed and she licked her lips before she walked over to her car, sat herself on the hood and sighed again. "Gabe?" she whispered, "Any help with a life taking, gambling witch?"

She counted the seconds in her head. A minute passed before she let out a breath, closed her eyes and hung her head. "Sam has the clap."

Charlotte whipped her head up to see Gabriel sitting next to her and she frowned at him, "What?"

He grinned and nodded to the motel room, "Your witch gave Sam the clap. Kinda funny. I might do that to him, just for a day."

"Can you help?"

"With the clap?"

She glared at him and raised her brows. "The witch. Can you reverse what he did?"

He seemed to contemplate this for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders once. "No can do."

"So what-"

"-But! I can help you to gamble _against _him and win!" He held his hands up with a grin and Charlotte stared at him, one brow raised. After a few moments he let his arms fall back to his sides and gave her a look. "Really? You have no faith in me? Come on!"

She sighed and nudged her elbow against his side with a frown. "That isn't what I asked."

"I-" he paused and she turned to see him glancing off towards the motel door. She frowned deeper and opened her mouth to say something before he beat her to it, "I will help you beat this Witch. On one condition."

"How-"

He held a finger up at her and opened his mouth, "Ah, ah-"

"No," she said, pointing her own finger at him, "don't do that, don't you ah ah me. No. No deal."

The door to the motel room opened and Charlotte dropped her hand and turned her gaze towards Dean who gave her a tight smile as he approached her. "Hey," he started.

"Hey," she said and she glanced to one side to see Gabriel still there. She frowned at him, glanced at Dean, back to Gabriel and back to Dean. He seemed oblivious to the Archangel stood just three feet from him and she opened her mouth.

"What did your friend say?"

She snapped her mouth shut and focused on controlling her expression into a dejected sigh as she kept Gabriel on the edge of her vision. "They're going to call me back, but they didn't sound hopeful."

"Look, Char," Dean started and she watched him sit on the hood of the car where Gabriel had just been sat. She followed Dean with her eyes as he sighed and shifted before he looked back up at her. On the edge of her vision she could see Gabriel gesturing at Dean and himself with a grin and she wanted to punch the guy. "Please, don't do this. We don't know if you'll win."

"Dean," she started, "as good looking as you are at eighty years old, you're supposed to be thirty."

Dean smirked, "Does this mean you'll still kiss me?"

She screwed her face up, "Ew, no. You're supposed to be thirty, like me. You look old enough to be my grandfather."

"I'm still thirty!"

"At heart," she teased with a grin and she watched him pull a face at her. "Dean, what else have we got?"

"You're still young! The rest of us screwed up, it doesn't mean you have to as well."

She sighed and grabbed his hand. She turned it over and laid her hand across his, her smile tightening at the sight of his wrinkled skin against her smooth and much younger skin. "So you're telling me to get over you? Dump your old gramps ass and find somebody younger, more _my age_?"

"Now," he said, giving her a look, "let's not get carried away."

She laughed and squeezed his hand gently. "Look, the way I see it, he's expecting a human to walk in there. I'm half angel, maybe, maybe I can use that to my advantage."

There was a pause before Dean said, "We really need to find out what you can do in the bedroom."

She shoved his shoulder and regretted it immediately when Dean winced. "Sorry," she said, grabbing his shoulder and trying to assess the damage.

"It's okay, just, go kick his ass. I want to fuck you at least once more before I have a heart attack."

Charlotte chuckled and let go of his hand. "Okay old man."

"Hey," he pointed at her with a grin, "stop that."

"Oh it's sticking gramps."

He shook his head and walked backwards to the motel room, narrowly avoiding walking into Gabriel on his way, "Anybody tell you you're a bitch."

She flipped him off with a grin and watched him laugh and turn back to the motel room. She gave a wolf whistle, watched him raise a hand to flip her off over his shoulder before he disappeared back into the motel room. Charlotte sighed and flicked her eyes to Gabriel, a smile still on her face. "I'll bite."

"You two are gross."

"Why didn't he see you?"

He smirked at her and leaned his arms next to her on the car, "Archangel."

She licked his lips and glanced back to the motel room. After a few moments she nodded her head. If she was going to go against a Witch who rocked at poker, than she would take any advantage that she could get. "Alright, fine."

"Great," Gabriel said as he stood up and clapped his hands, "these are my terms."

Charlotte held a hand up and looked up at him with a raised brow. "No, I do this, you tell me how to lock Lucifer away, _and_ you fix Bobby's legs. You wanted that right? To help us put the big man away?"

He eyed her carefully before he waggled a finger at her, "See? I knew you'd come around."

"Bite me," she mumbled.

"Tell me where and I'm yours."

She pulled a face and glared at him. "Deal?"

"Let's go trick a Witch."

* * *

Charlotte eyed the room with curiosity. There was a small table in the center of the room and on one side sat a guy with dark hair. "Well, well, well," he started in an Irish accent, "what can I do for you?"

She raised her brows and took the empty seat across from him. "I want to play."

"And what are you playing for? You look young, so it can't be for more years. Health?"

She shrugged a shoulder with a nonchalant expression. "Three idiots came in today, I happen to know all three of them."

Patrick smirked and sat back in his seat. "And now they've sent you to get their years back?"

Charlotte shook her head with a small smile, "Nah, that was my decision." She clapped her hands together with a grin and leaned back in her seat. "We going to play or what?"

There was silence for a few moments before Patrick leaned forward in his seat and said, "If you play, it won't be a simple twenty-five years. It'll be for all the years. That's a hundred years, fifty a piece for the boys. You still want to play? And if you lose-"

"I die," she mumbled and she drummed her fingers on the table top. Gabriel would help her, that's what he said. All she had to do was bluff her way through the rounds with his guidance hopefully swinging the game into her favour. If he was wrong, she was dead and he didn't get his deal. She bit her lip and started to doubt the guy, this was her life on the line right now, and she was being given an out.

She lifted a hand and toyed with the ring around her neck for a moment before she straightened her back and glared Patrick down. "Deal me in."

He shrugged and a set of poker chips appeared. "Your life."

* * *

"How about I let you leave now?" Patrick started and Charlotte flicked her eyes up to him as she tapped her fingers against the cards she'd been drawn. "What's that, forty years you lose? Twenty for each guy. Not bad."

"Keep going," she mumbled and she grabbed two more chips, tossing them into the pile. Gabriel had yet to appear and she couldn't stop the constant jittering of her leg. He said he would help, so where the fuck was he? Patrick hummed and added another card to the line of three on the table and she briefly glanced at her cards.

"He's bluffing," Gabriel said and Charlotte glanced up to see Gabriel peering over Patrick's shoulder. He gave her a look and nodded his head, "Raise it sweetheart."

"Raise," she said, tossing five more chips into the pile.

Patrick levelled a look with her before he pressed his cards forward with his hands up, "I fold."

Charlotte nodded her head and took the pile of chips in the centre of the table and started to gather them up. "Maybe I'll come back," she teased.

On the next set of cards she had a bad hand and Gabriel told her that she'd lost it. She glanced at her cards, a five and eight of clubs and the four face up cards were full of diamonds and hearts. "Fold," she mumbled, tossing her cards over to Patrick.

He grinned and she watched him take eight of her chips away. He shuffled the cards and dealt the next hand. Just as she was about to look at her cards she paused and flicked her gaze quickly to Gabriel. He gave her a look and she left her cards alone and placed five chips in the centre of the table.

Patrick raised his brows and called her bet. "You sure you don't want to look at your cards?"

She shrugged and grabbed another chip to tap it against the table top. "Well if I'm going to lose, why bother asking fate to change what's going to happen right?" She smiled brightly at him and watched him flip the first three cards before she added three chips to the table. "Maybe I'll get lucky."

"No, that's stupid." Gabriel said and he glanced at Patrick's cards. "He's got two three's. Check your cards and fold now before you-"

Charlotte tossed two more chips into the center of the table and sat back, her brows raised.

Patrick stared at her for a moment and she watched him hesitate to meet her call before he did so and she grinned wider at him. "Oh my- why?" Gabriel started, "Why did I bother?"

Patrick flipped the next card up and Charlotte tapped her cards three times before she dropped another chip onto the table. _Work some magic Gabriel, I want him scared_.

"This is abuse of power," he muttered back.

_Strippers? Alien abductions? Alligators in the sewers?_

"So sue me I was having fun."

"Tell me," Charlotte said as she pushed her cards forward, her fingers on top of them, "Patrick, what kind of people do you usually play against? Desperate humans right? That's what we are to you?"

He shrugged a shoulder and turned his cards over to reveal a pair of three's, giving him a three of a kind. "Everybody wants something and a smart man knows how to take advantage of that. As you said, this planet's full of desperate humans, each wanting something."

"Right," she said, flipping her own cards to reveal a two and a five, giving her a straight and beating his hand. "But you do know there are other things besides humans on this world right? Vampires? Werewolves? Demons?" He gave her a weary look and she winked at him as she collected her chips up. _Don't do it this time. _"You ever play against any of them?"

"You mean beasts that can't think?" He shuffled the cards and dealt them a fresh hand. Again, she didn't look at her cards and tossed five chips into the centre of the table.

"They were human at some point."

"At some point." He raised her and she met his raised with an extra three chips.

The first three cards were flipped and she watched Gabriel Patrick's hand, "He's got zilch."

_Make mine win this round_. "What I'm getting at," she went on, tossing four more chips into the pile, "is that are you sure that everyone you meet is human?"

That got a pause from him, an audible, four second pause in which he just stared at her and she propped her elbows onto the table, propped her chin in her hands and grinned. "What are you?" he whispered, flipping the next card.

She shrugged her shoulder and raised two chips. "Mostly human, or so I've been told." He called her and flipped another card. She added three chips and watched him slowly flip his own cards over. He ended up with one pair and she flipped her own cards to reveal nothing.

The smile to his face came back and he raised his brows, "But apparently non-humans are just as stupid as humans."

Charlotte laughed and decided to look at the next set of cards she was dealt. "What can I say, we're all after something right?" _Work me some magic_, she thought and she took a deep breath before she shoved ten chips onto the pile. "I'm bored," she said and she pushed another five onto the pile.

"You know, you're reckless," Gabriel said.

_So I've been told_.

Patrick grinned and leaned back. "We could make this more interesting?"

Charlotte perked up at that and raised her brows. "And what would you suggest?"

He shrugged and threw two chips onto the pile. Charlotte eyed her cards again before she folded. "I can add a few years to this, free of charge. Give you guys a little extra on top."

She eyed him up and glanced back down at her pile of chips. She still had about half of them and she tapped her finger against her new set of cards before she looked back up at Patrick. "At what cost?"

"Just one little spell and for you to let me look at you, the real you."

She stared at him for a moment before she shook her head, "Nah. I'm good," and she tossed three chips into the pile.

Charlotte couldn't say how long they were playing for, but in the end, Gabriel told her, "I'm tired of this schmuck. Can we finish this now?"

"Alright," she mumbled, "I'm done," and she pushed all of her chips in. "Let's get this over with."

Patrick hummed and raised his brows at her, "I'll give you a chance to change your mind."

"I'm a go big or go home kind of girl."

"So that's why you're with Dean huh?" Gabriel smirked from her side.

She grinned and raised her brows. "Come on, show em."

* * *

Charlotte had barely pulled into the parking lot when the motel room door opened and Bobby walked out. She raised her brows with a grin and muttered a silent thanks to Gabriel with a promise to kiss him before she climbed out of her car, grin still in place and ran up to him and hugged him. "You look good," she muttered.

"You're still young."

"Well," she shrugged, "some of us know how to play poker."

Bobby pulled away and raised his brows, "How'd you do it kid?"

She shrugged again. "Told him that if he fixed your legs I'd go all in on my last round, no matter the cards."

"You did what now?"

Charlotte shrugged again and held her hands up, "It worked! I'm not complaining."

"You stupid son of a bitch," he muttered but he couldn't stop the grin on his face as he brought her into another hug and she welcomed it with a quiet hum. This was the happiest she'd seen him in a long time and she wanted it to stay. She opened her eyes and peered over Bobby's shoulder to see Dean grinning at her, raising his brows at her with a smirk.

Sam walked into view and held his hands up and Charlotte pulled away from Bobby again. "Well, turns out you're better than all of us at poker."

Charlotte shrugged, "Well, I never wanted to brag or anything."

"You're a dick," Sam muttered as he threw a light punch to her shoulder.

Charlotte chuckled and slapped his chest, "Shut up gramps," she muttered before she walked past him. "Dean," she started with a grin, kicking the door closed behind her, already forgetting what the older version of him had looked like. He was back to being young and smooth skinned. He held his arms out and she ran into them, jumping into them like a schoolgirl with a giggle as Dean held her up against his chest. She kissed him gently, humming into the kiss as she cradled his face in her hands. "I hope you're not going to have a heart attack on me old man," she teased.

"Well," Dean started with a grin, "there's only one way to find out."

* * *

**Answers: **

**Lexi: **When does anybody listen to reason? But yeah, things are going to get super tense. Also, yes, you are right. Fic-wise I did have her waking up in kindergaten. What I want to do is go back and edit the earlier chapters, small tweaks to add in missing words, change small things. I will be doing that, just when I get the chance. What I will say, is that if things differ in the fic and the tumblr, take the tumblr as the right version because that's how it is in my mind and I will change things to make it fit. But yeah, take tumblr as the right version.

**JayWinchester: **It gets better. And yeah, despite how bad their relationship seems, it works for them.

**Elle:** Changing channels is really soon. I just want to jump straight to it. When did Charlotte start hunting with Bobby? I'm going to say that mostly she stayed at home and Bobby did a lot of home teaching of the stuff. It wasn't until she was eighteen, with a lot of pestering from her, that he agreed to take her on a hunt, and it was just a salt and burn hunt.


	56. 2009 September

**A/N: Skendo**: Yeah my bad, thanks for that. It's fixed now.

2009 – September

_Minnesota – St Cloud_

Natalie stuffed a mouthful of Chinese take out into her mouth and glanced over at Charlotte. They were in the middle of a vampire hunt, their guess being a newly formed nest killing off the travellers that passed through town. They'd spent all day talking to the local Sheriff, interviewing people and following the last trails of the dead people.

Nothing was coming up and they'd both decided to call it a night to recharge their batteries, get some rest and come at this with fresh eyes. Natalie swallowed her mouthful of food and looked over Charlotte again. She'd talked a lot about the case, and had informed Natalie of the Winchester's last case, and "their total lack of sense", but she'd done little talking personally. There was something on her mind and Natalie wanted to know.

"So," she started as she stabbed her fork into her Chinese take out box, "what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Charlotte mumbled.

Natalie raised a brow and looked back over at her, "Want to try that again?"

Charlotte fixed her gaze on her with her own raised brows, "Nope." She stuffed a forkful of food into her mouth and gave her a challenging look.

"My offer doesn't expire."

Charlotte shrugged, "Doesn't matter."

Natalie rolled her eyes and finished eating her food with a small frown. She tidied some of their things up before she changed for bed and climbed under the covers. "We should split up tomorrow," she said before she laid down, "I'll do another talk to witnesses tomorrow, you should take a look around..."

"See if I find anything suspicious?"

Natalie nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, and maybe you'll be in a better mood tomorrow."

"Bite me."

Natalie shook her head with a small smile and turned over to sleep.

Several hours later Natalie stirred to the sound of a mumbling voice. She lifted her head to look for the source, a frown on her face, and she looked over to the other be to see Charlotte twisting underneath the sheets. "Charlotte?" Natalie whispered and she heard Charlotte grunt and make a small whimpering sound before she twisted again. "Shit," she whispered to herself.

"Don't," Charlotte grunted out, her voice rough and hoarse, "don't do this. I can't, no."

Natalie climbed out of bed and approached Charlotte's bed with a worried frown, "Charlotte," she mumbled, "wake up."

"Stop, don't-" Charlotte mumbled, her face twisted with pain and agony, "no, it's not- no, that's not-"

Natalie gently shook Charlotte's shoulder with a mumble, "Charlotte?" she said a little louder, "Hey! Wake up."

"N-no. No, that's not, it can't, I- no!"

"Charlotte!"

"You're not real, you can't be!"

"Charlotte!"

Charlotte gasped, her eyes snapping open with a hoarse grumble of, "Nat."

Natalie sighed and sat down on the edge of Charlotte's bed, one hand on her face. "Don't do that to me," she whispered before she looked back over at Charlotte. The woman in question had her eyes screwed shut, her chest heaving as she held a hand over her face. "Seriously, you had me worried."

"I'm sorry," Charlotte whispered.

"What was going on? What were you dreaming about because it definitely wasn't good."

Charlotte glanced up at her from underneath her hand and shrugged before she curled away from Natalie, "I don't know."

"Bullshit."

"Nat-"

"No, I'm tired of this shit. Yeah, I'm pissed now, please, for once in your stupid life, just tell me everything straight."

Charlotte shrugged her shoulder again and shook her head. "Please," she quietly pleaded, "just, just, please."

"What?" Natalie snapped. "Charlotte," she whispered, "just talk to me."

Charlotte shook her head again and Natalie's shoulders slumped. After a few moments she heard a sniffle then Charlotte whispered, her voice broken, "I don't know. I don't know what's going on, what any of it means, anything. It doesn't make sense and I don't know what to do."

Natalie pursed her lips and laid a hand on Charlotte's shoulder and squeezed it gently, "Talk me through it."

Charlotte shrugged again and mumbled, "Did I ever tell you about Azrael? The dick angel that tortured me?"

Natalie nodded. "I remember."

"The other month I, I summoned him. I wanted answers, or revenge, payback or something. It seemed like a good idea at the time." There was a pause and Natalie straightened up to try to get a look at Charlotte's face. She couldn't be certain if she saw tears or not but she felt helpless as she waited in the silent dark for Charlotte to carry on. After a few loud, shaky breaths, she went on, "I should be dead. I don't know what happened, but I blacked out, certain I was dead. Then, then I woke up covered in blood, _his_ blood and he was..."

Natalie frowned. That sounded bizarre, even by the standards she'd already heard. "What happened?"

"I did," Charlotte mumbled tiredly.

Natalie's frown deepened. "I thought you said you blacked out. How could you-"

"I don't know. But it was me."

There was silence for several minutes before Natalie opened her mouth. "Do you think it's connected to your dreams? About hell?"

Again, Charlotte shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me."

Natalie rubbed a hand over her face and tried to rub the tiredness from her eyes. "We really need to look into this. Get a second opinion."

Charlotte scoffed. "I tried that, it didn't work out well."

Natalie raised a brow, "Who'd you ask?" Charlotte didn't answer her straight away and Natalie poked Charlotte's shoulder. "Hey, who'd you ask?"

"An angel," she muttered.

"Okay, which one?"

Charlotte glanced over at Natalie then and seemed to contemplate it a moment before she mumbled, "He- Gabriel."

"Gabriel?" Natalie echoed before she paused and opened her mouth. "Gabriel? Like, one of the four Archangels Gabriel."

"Yeah," she mumbled carelessly before she rolled back away from Natalie.

There's another pause before Natalie said, "Can he not- do anything?"

Charlotte shook her head and tugged on the sheets. "Nope. Said he isn't sure what I am anymore." Natalie had no idea what to say, letting the silence fill the air as she struggled to come up with anything to add. Eventually, Charlotte broke it with, "Let's just go back to sleep. Worry about it after we kill the vamps."

Natalie gave Charlotte's form another look before she sighed and nodded her head. "Fine, but we're having a serious talk about this. With Dean, and Sam, and Bobby okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Charlotte-"

"No," Charlotte whispered, "I know, I know. We'll talk."

"Alright," Natalie whispered back, "try to get some sleep."

"Yeah."

Natalie sighed as she climbed back into her own bed and laid back down. She glanced over at Charlotte again and bit her lip. She knew that the other woman would hold off that conversation for as long as she could, but worry ate at Natalie's stomach. With Lucifer being free, with demons and angels worrying about Michael and Lucifer getting their vessels, the world being destroyed in the fight, this was something that they could do without and Natalie filed it away for when the vamps had been killed and when everybody had time to sit down and talk this out.


	57. 2009 October

**A/N:** So, here's the first part of the Changing Channels episode. Enjoy.

2009 – October

Charlotte held her phone to her ear as she listened to the line ring again, and again, and again. This was the eighth time she'd called and she still hadn't gotten through to the Witch she'd left three messages with by now. The call went to the answering machine, again, and Charlotte sighed. "I know you've heard my other messages, so I'm asking you again Tracy, please, just help me out, one more time."

She hung up and let out a frustrated groan before she gripped her phone tightly, tempted to toss it across the room. Tracy was a witch who'd given her a hand during the months Dean was in hell. It was meant to be a one time deal, but Charlotte was hoping that Tracy would be able to give her some idea with what was going on with her.

Her phone rang and Charlotte quickly answered it with a short, "Yeah?"

"Where are you kid?" Bobby asked and Charlotte tried to hide her dejection.

"Michigan, why? What's up?"

There was a pause and Charlotte raised a brow as she heard Bobby mumble on the line to somebody else. "When was the last time you heard from the Winchesters?"

She sighed and pinched her eyes shut. "Do I want to know?"

"Castiel can't find them. He was hoping you would know where they are." Charlotte frowned for a moment before she remembered the warding Cas had given the boys. "He'd find you himself, except he can't."

"Oh, right," she said with a small nod, "yeah. Erm. Motel room 5 on Main street, Clemont, Indianapolis."

There was a rustle of fabric and Charlotte turned round to come face to face with Castiel himself. The angel stood three inches away from her and she heard Bobby say, "He find you?"

"He's here. Thanks Bobby." The line clicked and Charlotte put her phone away as she looked over Cas' face and licked her lips. "Cas?"

"Yes?"

"Step back."

It seemed to take a moment before the Angel looked sheepish and took a step back. "My apologies."

She nodded and stuffed her phone into her pocket. "It's fine," she said and she started towards her laptop. "So, why are you looking for dumb and dumber?"

There was a pause before Cas responded, "I don't know who that-"

"Sam and Dean," she interrupted and she booted her laptop up and pulled up a website for GPS tracking. "What did they do this time?"

"They've been missing for two days now."

Charlotte stopped typing in Dean's number to look over at the Angel, who was stood awkwardly in the middle of her motel room. "Is that it?"

Cas frowned at her. "You're not worried?"

She snorted and turned back to her laptop. "If I worried every time they dropped off the radar I'd have grey hair already."

"I had my own way of tracking Dean, but something is blocking me from finding him and I can't explain it."

She made a 'come here' gesture over her shoulder at Cas and waited until she could feel him over her shoulder before she pointed at the screen. "Dean's phone is here, so my guess is he's close by." She turned to look up at Cas with a worried frown. "You really couldn't find them?"

"No," Cas said.

Charlotte nodded her head and stood up. "Fine, I'm coming with you."

Cas raised a brow. "I thought you weren't worried."

"Well, I wasn't until an Angel of Lord voiced his concerns for those two idiots." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Let's go."

"Very well," Cas said and he placed his hand on her shoulder. In the next instant she was stood inside of a warehouse. She frowned and turned around to see the Impala but no sign of Dean or Sam. "Hey, Cas..." she started and she turned again to find herself alone. "Erm, Cas?" she called out a little louder. She turned in a full circle two more times before she frowned. "Okay, so I made it but Cas didn't? The Impala's here but not Dean or Sam?" After a few seconds she sighed and held her arms. "I give up," she mumbled and she started towards the Impala. It was empty inside and there seemed to be no sign of damage.

"I really hope you're not here to ruin my fun."

Charlotte turned round and realisation hit her as she stared at Gabriel. "What did you do to them?"

"They're fine! They're safe. Mostly. I think. It's just a little fun at their expense."

Charlotte raised her brows and folded her arms over her chest. "Uh huh. And Cas?"

Gabriel waved his arms as he said, "Castiel was… in the way."

"You didn't kill him did you?"

"What?" Gabriel looked offended and he scoffed. "No. He's alive. Just not here." Charlotte glared at him for a few moments before he sighed and held his hand up. "Look, it's just a little bit of fun." He clicked his fingers and suddenly Charlotte found herself cosied up on a couch next to Gabriel with a TV set in front of them. On the screen, which Gabriel pointed at as he threw a piece of popcorn into his mouth, were Sam and Dean locked in some sort of Japanese game.

Charlotte raised her brows and watched curiously, side glancing at Gabriel. He offered her some popcorn and she hesitated in taking a few pieces with a small, "Thanks."

On screen Dean and Sam were playing basketball and she watched as Sam stood facing the camera. Dean clapped him on the shoulder with a grin before he turned around to carry on playing basketball. Sam sighed before he said, "I've got genital herpes."

Charlotte coughed and had to slam her fist against her chest several times as popcorn got stuck in her throat. She couldn't stop the small smile that started to creep onto her face as the 'commercial' carried on. After a short while Sam turned to face the audience again before he said, "But now I take twice-daily Herpexia to reduce my chances of passing it on."

She held a hand over her face as she laughed, trying to keep it in as the commercial started to end with Dean commenting about the side effects and she lost it when he said, "erectile dysfunction."

"You, are a child," Gabriel said with a grin as he held the popcorn out to her again.

"I don't care," she said with a grin, "that's brilliant."

"I know right!"

Charlotte shook her head as she took some more popcorn and popped it into her mouth, "You're such a dick."

"Oh please, _I_ have style."

She shook her head again and leaned back into the couch as the channel changed to show one of those sitcoms with a laughing soundtrack played over the people in the scene. It opened up to a bright motel room and Dean stood in the middle of the room, by a table with a bigger than possible sandwich on it, a woman clad in only a bikini off to one side and Sam looking disappointedly at Dean from the door.

"Son of a bitch."

"Oh my god," Charlotte mumbled and she couldn't stop the grin. She leaned towards Gabriel and muttered, "Can I just ask, why? Why do this?"

Gabriel gave her a look before he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Because it's funny."

Charlotte chuckled and shook her head before she forced her attention away from the screen. "Look, Gabe, as funny as it is, just let them go."

He turned his attention on her and raised his brows before he said, "No."

"Well, where's Cas? Huh? Look, just let them go, I'll drag them away from here and they'll be none the wiser."

"Nah," he said before he kicked his feet up onto a foot stool Charlotte swore hadn't been there just seconds away.

She raised her brows at him and said, "Nah? That's your eloquent response?"

"Look at you," he mocked, "using big girl words."

"Fuck you."

He winked at her, "If you're offering."

She stood up and shook her head. "Look, it's hilarious, and if we didn't have your brothers to stop from wiping out half the Earth, I'd be happy to hang around and watch with you. I'd even give you ideas. But Lucifer and Mic-"

"And what idiot was responsible for releasing my jackass brother in the first place!"

Charlotte clamped her mouth shut and glared. "That's not fair. The Angels-"

"Life. Isn't fair sweetheart," he said and she felt fear seep into her body at the anger and coldness in his voice. He stared up at her before he turned back to the TV and said, "It's about time you morons learnt that."

She stared at him for several seconds, the sound of crunching popcorn the only sound besides Sam and Dean's voices on the screen before she said, "You care." He glanced up at her and she held a hand up, "No matter what you say, what crap you spout, you care. It's why you helped me to beat that witch and helped Bobby to walk again. Because you care. So stop jacking around and start acting the big and mighty Archangel you're supposed to be."

"You okay?"

Charlotte glanced back at the screen to see Castiel on the screen, a few scratches covering his face. She sighed and waved at the screen, "You said-"

Gabriel held a finger up, "Ah, ah, I said he was alive."

"Gabe!"

He clicked his fingers again and suddenly Charlotte found herself duct taped to a chair and in front of the TV again. Gabriel stood in front of her and he tilted his head to one side, "Something's missing," he mumbled. "Ah," he grinned and clicked his fingers again and Charlotte felt more duct tape over her mouth. "Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show," he said before he disappeared.

Charlotte tugged on the tape and she glanced at the screen when she heard somebody hit something solid. It was Cas being thrown into a wall and she glared at the screen.

"Hello!" Gabriel said as he entered through the on set door, the 'audience' applauding his entrance. Cas stood back up again and Charlotte rolled her eyes when she spotted the duct tape on his mouth too. "Thank you. Thank you, ladies," Gabriel carried on. He turned to Castiel and plastered a grin onto his face as he held his arms out. "Hey Castiel!" The angel in question glared at him before he disappeared and Charlotte pulled on the tape again.

"You know him?" Sam asked.

"Where did you just send him?" Dean asked.

Gabriel waved at them before he said. "Relax, he'll live... Maybe. You know, you two are hits with the audience out there." Gabriel waved at camera and Charlotte glared at it harder, sending death threats his way.

"You know what," Dean started, "I am done with the monkey dance, okay? We get it."

Gabriel's attention turned to Dean and Charlotte stilled as she watched. "Yeah? Get what hotshot?"

"Playing our roles right? That's your game?"

Gabriel shrugged, "That's half the game."

"What's the other half?" Sam asked.

"Play your roles out there."

Charlotte frowned as she tried to figure it out for herself what he was getting at. Something started to click in her mind and she heard Dean pose the question on the tip of her tongue that would help her understand _exactly_ what Gabriel was getting at. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know," Gabriel started. "Sam starring as Lucifer. Dean starring as Michael." Charlotte's stomach twisted as he carried on, her eyes widening in disbelief as she drunk in each word, "Your celebrity death match. Play your roles."

_But he doesn't want that. He said so himself._

"You want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?" Sam asked.

"Hells yeah! Let's light this candle!"

_That- No. He's lying. Why would he want them to do that? He said- he said- but he helped me. He said-_

"We do that, the world will end," Sam said.

"Yeah?" Gabriel snapped, "And whose fault is that?"

_He cares at least a little. He fucking cares. What the hell is he saying? _

"Who popped Lucifer out of the box? Hm? Look, it's started. You started it. It can't be stopped. So let's get it over with!"

_He lied. Or he's lying. Why? Why would he lie? He cares about himself right? If he helps to stop it- it can be stopped. It has to be stopped. I'm not losing either of them. _

"Heaven or hell," Dean interrupted her thoughts, "which side are you on?"

"Neither."

_Gabe_, she started, sending a silent prayer to the angel, _did you lie to me?_

_Angel_, was the only response she heard in the back of her mind.

Dean scoffed and shook his head, "Yeah, right. You're grabbing ankle for Michael or Lucifer. Which ons is it?"

Gabriel's small smile was still on his face as he said, "You listen to me, you arrogant dick. I don't work for either of those sons of bitches. Believe me."

"Oh you're somebody's bitch," Dean commented.

Charlotte jumped as Gabriel grabbed Dean's collar and slammed him back into the wall. _You hurt him and I'll kill you_, _you son of a bitch_.

"Don't you ever, ever presume to know what I am," Gabriel threatened. "Now, listen very closely." He looked between Sam and Dean as he said, "Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna suck it up, accept your responibilities, and play the roles that destiny has chosen for you."

"And if we don't?" Sam asked and Charlotte gripped the chair arms tightly, afraid for Gabriels' reaction.

He smiled at the boys before he said, "Then you'll stay here in TV Land. Forever. Three hundred channels and, uh, nothing's on." He turned to look at the TV before he winked and the screen blacked out.

* * *

**Answers:**

**Lexi: **Oh this has been a long time coming. And that conversation is going to be interesting.

**Elle**: If Charlotte had grown up with her Mother her personality would most likely have been different yes. Very different.

There was never a specific time in which Charlotte and Dean agreed to stop sleeping with other people. They both just kind of stopped doing it without really mentioning it to the other.

I can't answer the question about what Charlotte's dream life caught by a Djinn would be because I am planning to write a chapter about that. You'll find out when that happens.

How do I feel about John Winchester? Negatively. I think he was a bad example of a father figure.

Are you asking if Charlotte's relationship with her father would've deteriorated with her father if he'd continued to live? Based on the Djinn dream Dean had, she had no idea who he was and he was asking personal questions. She was being vague because she didn't know who he was and was being wary.


	58. 2009 October part 2

**A/N:** Here's the second half to changing channels. If anybody can guess what Gabe does to Sam, you get a cookie. Enjoy.

2009 – October

Part 2

Charlotte stared at the TV screen for a little longer, her heart pounding inside of her chest. The warehouse that she was in was deathly quiet and she wished she could something, anything. Gabriel was pissed off and she could understand why: Lucifer had been locked away for centuries and Sam and Dean had come along and busted him out.

But it wasn't their fault. It wasn't like they'd done it on purpose. It had been one of the biggest accidents to ever happen, they couldn't be blamed for this. Gabriel couldn't blame them for it. He couldn't.

She yelled behind the tape as she struggled to shift her arms. The moment she was free she was going to punch the guy. But no matter how much she pulled and twisted her wrists, the tape didn't budge and no matter how much she felt her angel side try, it didn't seem to make any difference. There was something more than just tape keeping her pinned in place and she yelled again, frustration biting at her skin.

_Gabe! You get your fucking dumb ass here so I can beat the crap out of it!_

She tried pulling on the tape again, already aware that it was a wasted effort. But she hated doing nothing and when she tried once more to twist her wrists free, her muscles aching from the exertion, she let out a groan, closed her eyes and hung her head.

It didn't make sense. She tried to wrap her head around what Gabriel had told her and what he had told the boys. He wanted her help to lock Lucifer away, but then he wanted Sam and Dean to 'play their parts' of Lucifer and Michael. Did that mean he wanted her to lock Sam away? Before or after he had a showdown with Dean? She shook her head and glared at the TV screen. There was no way in hell she was letting that happen. She'd promised Dean that it wouldn't and she intended to keep her promise.

Several seconds passed before she heard the sound of police sirens and she looked up with a frown. The TV was on again and it seemed to be showing some sort of cop show. She rolled her eyes and glared at the tape that restrained her.

"Come on, sweetheart," her head snapped up to see Gabriel sitting on the couch again, popcorn in hand once more, "live a little. Relax."

She growled behind the tape with a glare. _Untie me._

He tilted his head towards her with a smirk. "Technically speaking-"

_I will pray to every angel out there!_

He paused before he sighed and clicked his fingers. She was still bound to the chair, but her mouth was free and she took a deep breath. "You say one thing I don't like and tape goes back."

She narrowed her eyes at him before she smirked. _You're a whiny dick. _He glared at her and raised his hand. Charlotte waved her hands with a grin, "Ah, ah, technically speaking, I didn't _say _it." He continued to glare at her and she glared right back at him. "Did you mean it?"

It was a moment before he answered, "Mean what?"

She nodded her head to the TV where Sam and Dean were playing crime scene investigators. "About them being Michael and Lucifer? Because that's very different to what you told me a while back."

He shrugged before he popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth. "Meh," he said, his eyes fixed on the TV.

Charlotte glanced at it to see Dean and Sam take their sunglasses off, make some awful pun and put them back on again. She rolled her eyes with a groan. "Meh?" she echoed before she pulled against the tape. "No, honesty hour, Gabe. Do you or do you not want Sam and Dean to say Yes to your dickhead brothers?" Gabriel munched on popcorn for a few moments longer, his gaze glued to the TV and when it was obvious he wasn't going to answer her she tried to kick out in frustration. "You did not lie to me. You helped them, helped me. You helped Bobby to walk again! What the fuck are you playing at?!"

Gabriel turned to face her, popcorn abandoned in the empty seat next to him as he gestured a finger at her. "I'm helping _you_. Those sons of bitches, who sprung my brother free in the first place, I don't care for them! This? This is a little fun at their expense to show them that there are things more powerful then them."

"No, it isn't!" she sighed and shook her head, "Something's changed. What? What's happened?" He glared at her a moment longer before he looked away. "Just, talk," she ground out.

"Hypocrite," he muttered before he clicked his fingers again and Charlotte was sat back down on the couch next to him. He held the popcorn out to her with a sigh and she hesitantly took a few pieces. "Look, what you guys call apocalypse, I call Sunday dinner. I want this over. More than anybdoy else in the world, I want this to be over, and why? Because it's not just my brothers having a spat. No, it's them tearing each other's throats out. It's one brother killing another." He shook his head and glanced at Charlotte, "Yeah, they may be dicks. But they're still my brothers. And if your boyfriend and his brother are the reason my brothers got this opportunity to start this fight, then hey, maybe they should be a part of it to know what it's like. Okay? _That! _Is what's happened. That, is the truth of it."

Charlotte stared at Gabriel, her lips parted as she failed to come up with a response. It was easy to think of it as two angels going at it, but to see it like that. She leaned forward, trying to get him to look at her again, "So help me to lock Lucifer away. They'll both be alive. Nobody will kill anyone."

Gabriel snorted and threw a piece of popcorn into his mouth as he glanced at the TV screen. Charlotte glanced at it to see Sam stab an image of Gabriel. "You do that, Michael will kill you."

She raised her brows and looked back at him, "And would _you_ lose any sleep over that?" He side glanced her and she held her hands up. "Whenever I die, I'm going to hell. And maybe I'd like to dictate when I die for once. No more angels or demons telling me that my time is up. I decide how and when. So, if I want to put Lucifer back in the cage, and Michael killing me is the consequence? Then fine! Bring it on! I'm tired of running, of trying to fight tooth and claw for every day I'm not going to have." Gabriel didn't say anything, his lips pursed tightly as he watched her and Charlotte went on, the thoughts she'd been having for a long time coming to the surface. "I want to live as much as the next girl, but I should've died years ago. I'm living on borrowed time right now so hey, why not put it to good use. I'm going to hell anyway so let's go with a bang right?"

She felt hollow with those words. She'd heard those words coming from Dean several years ago and she'd punched him for it, and yet here she was saying the exact same thing. She was a hypocrite and she knew it.

But it was true, and she felt scared of herself for thinking like that.

Gabriel still didn't say anything and Charlotte shrugged her shoulder, "What? I'm willing to tell your brother to go fuck himself, blaze and glory. Are you going to make me do it alone? Or are you gonna stand up to them and tell them to get over themselves with me."

He still didn't say anything and Charlotte's heart was pounding as she waited for some kind of reaction from him. Any reaction was better than none at this point. She held her breath as he raised his hand and she screwed her eyes shut as he clicked his fingers. A moment passed before she heard Dean say, "Ch-Charlotte?"

She snapped her eyes open as she stood up and turned to face Dean with a small smile. "Dean," she started and she looked over to Sam, "Sam." After a moment she turned back to face Gabriel to see him sitting quietly, lost in his own thoughts.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

Gabriel stood up and Charlotte raised her brows at him. "Can I properly introduce you now?"

He turned to face her with a smirk, his gaze flicking over her shoulder to Dean and Sam before he looked back at her with a grin. "I believe you promised me something, sweetheart."

Charlotte frowned and tilted her head. "Besides what we just talked about?"

"Besides that."

"Hey," Dean said and both Charlotte and Gabriel turned to look over at Dean, "somebody want to explain what's going on?"

Charlotte sighed and waved a hand at Gabriel. "Sam, Dean, this is Gabriel, the archangel. Brother to Lucifer and Michael."

"G-Gabriel?" Sam whispered.

"Oh," Gabriel said and he clicked his fingers again. After a moment Sam frowned and shifted slightly.

Charlotte frowned at Sam before she turned to Gabriel with raised brows. "Hey! Stop that."

"It's for a week."

"Gabe!"

"Two days. Final offer."

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked.

Gabriel held a hand up and a moment later Castiel appeared, his eyes slowly fixing on Gabriel. "Hello brother."

"Heya Cas, how's the search for Dad going? Let me guess. Awful?"

"Okay," Dean said, holding his hands up, "you know what. I don't care. I'm done. I'm out of here." He pointed a hand to Charlotte as he turned towards the Impala, "You're explaining everything later."

Charlotte waved a hand back at him, "Yeah, yeah. I'll explain everything."

Gabriel grabbed her arm and tugged her back a step, "You owe me a little something," he said with a smirk.

She raised her brows at him, feeling three other pairs of eyes on her and she shook her head. "No I don't." In the next moment she felt his hand in hers and his other hand on her hip. He turned and dipped her and she barely had time to breathe before he kissed him. Charlotte closed her eyes into the kiss, her senses lost and a moment later she was back on her feet, lips parted and her eyes blinking away the sudden shock of it all.

"Hey!" Dean shouted.

Gabriel winked at her and said, "She's a keeper Dean-o!" Then he disappeared.

"Hey!" Dean shouted again and Charlotte's eyes couldn't focus on anything. She felt Dean grab her arm and a vague shape appeared in her vision. Dean's voice was muffled slightly as he said, "What the fuck was that? Charlotte? You want to talk to me? Like, now?"

She blinked, her vision clearing and she shook her head. She couldn't explain the sudden explosion to her senses and she slowly focused her attention back onto Dean with a frown. "What- I don't-" she slowly shook her head with a deep frown before it finally clicked what had happened. Gabriel had kissed her and her eyes widened. "Son of a bitch," she whispered and she slowly turned to look at Dean, "listen, that- that-" she clamped her mouth shut. "He helped Bobby," she started again slowly, "I was dubious, at first. Didn't think he'd follow through with it. But Bobby was walking again and I- I briefly told him that I'd kiss him for that. For- for making Bobby, Bobby again. Okay? It's, it's nothing."

He stared at her for a moment, his brows furrowed before he glanced at Sam and Cas. He dug around in his pocket for a moment before he found the keys to the Impala and he tossed them to Sam. He turned his attention back to Charlotte and grabbed her arms. "It better be nothing," he growled, before he cupped her cheek and tugged her in for a deep, bruising kiss.

"Dean," she breathed against his lips before she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back towards her own car. "He's a dick," she whispered and she could hear the door to the Impala open before it slammed shut again, the engine quickly revving into action. She smashed her mouth against his again as she pressed him against the side of her car, her hands on his waist, "I couldn't care less for him," she mumbled as her hands fumbled with the belt of his jeans.

"I hope not," Dean murmured back as his hand searched blindly for the door handle. He pulled it open and wasted no time in tugging Charlotte with him towards the seat, pulling her on top of him as he threaded his hands through her hair and held her in place as he kissed her deeply. "Cause you're mine," he growled.

"And you're mine," she growled back, shoving his shirt up his chest.

* * *

**Answers:**

**Lexi: **I hadn't really thought about it to be honest. It does fit, and I like that.


	59. 2009 November

**A/N:** First of all, I want to say how sorry I am that it's taken me so long to get back on track with this story. I was gone a lot longer than I was planning on doing and I want to thank you all for baring with me and waiting for me. Thank you for understanding and I hope to be back on a regular basis now. Enjoy.

I swear this chapter is safe for work. Kind of. Sort of. Mostly.

2009 – November

_The smell of tangy copper hung in the air, mixing with the stench of stale sweat. It clung to the putrid scent of urine and fear and burnt the hair in her nose with each breath. There was a faint murmuring of whimpers and quiet pleas that swept over her with satisfaction. Her vision turned to take in the dark room, highlighted with strips of red blood. In the centre of the room was a person, the clink of a metal chain echoing harshly against the small painful moans. _

"_Please, please, no- no more. I can't-" he begged, his voice stuttering just above a whimper. "I'm sorry, ple- please, I'm- I'm sorry."_

_She chuckled in mirth and she heard the swipe of one blade against another._

Charlotte snapped her eyes open with a gasp. The images clung to her mind and she closed her to try to shake them away. "Fuck," she whispered and she scrubbed a hand over her face. She let out a breath and glanced at Dean, still fast asleep next to her. After a few moments, when she was sure he wasn't going to wake up, she rolled over and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Quietly she searched the floor for a shirt, tugged it over her head and padded towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her before she flicked the light on, screwing her eyes up at the sudden intrusion of light. With a small sigh she stepped over towards the sink and turned the water on. The dream hung in her mind, sending shivers down her spine. Charlotte leaned over the sink and splashed water over her face, trying to wash away the faint feeling of something cold dripping own her wrists from the knives that she could still feel in her hands.

She splashed water across her cheeks a couple more times, taking deep breaths to steady the heavy beating of her heart. With a final sigh she turned the water off, grabbed the basin and slowly stood up, her eyes closed. "You're fine, you're fine, it's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything," she whispered to herself, failing to fill herself with confidence. After a few moments she opened her eyes, flicked her gaze to the mirror and started back with a gasp. She quickly shook her head again and looked back at her reflection.

Charlotte couldn't move. Her eyes were fixed on the mirror and she tried to convince herself that it had been a trick of the light, that she was tired and just needed more sleep. It wasn't possible... she couldn't- she blinked and took a step back at the flash of black in the reflection before it disappeared with another blink. She slammed her hand on the light switch, flung the door open and stepped back out into the motel room. It took her several seconds of deep breathing to try to calm the racing of her heart and Charlotte stood there, her hands shaking by her sides as she tried to shake that image away.

Dean shifted in the bed and Charlotte snapped her eyes up, following him as he twisted onto his side to face her. It was hard to make out, but she was certain he was still fast asleep and she took slow steps towards the bed, still trying to make her mind up about whether or not she'd be able to go back to sleep.

Charlotte lost track of how long she stood there, deciding between the comforts of bed or taking a drive somewhere when Dean shifted again. After a moment he slurred, his voice barely there, "'m back."

She ducked her head with a small smile and let that make up her mind for her. She padded back towards the bed and slowly slid back underneath the covers. Dean's arm came around her, pulling her back against his chest as he nuzzled his nose across the nape of her neck. "'ime?"

Charlotte glanced at the worn alarm clock on the night stand and pursed her lips. "Two," she whispered. She laid her hand over Dean's and squeezed their fingers together. "Back to sleep, Dean."

He hummed and tangled one leg between hers, keeping her pulled close as his breaths steadied out into an even rhythm. Charlotte sighed and closed her eyes. The images came back in an instant and she snapped her eyes open again with a small gasp. "Fuck," she whispered with another sigh.

Dean murmured by her side and slurred, "'sup?"

"Nothing," she quickly muttered.

"Char," he mumbled. His hand came up to wrap around her shoulder and he tugged her against him. "sup?"

"Just a bad dream."

"'Bout?"

She shook her head, "Nothing. Just go back to sleep, Dean."

She felt the bed dip and Dean pulled her onto her back to lean over her with a sleepy frown. "Well, I'm awake now." He looked over her and tilted his head. "Now talk."

Charlotte raised a brow at Dean and shrugged her shoulder with a small sigh. "It was just a bad dream. That's it."

Dean hummed as he rolled on top of her, bracketing her in with his arms on either side of her. He tilted his head with a tired smile and leaned down to gently kiss her neck. "What happened?"

Charlotte closed her eyes and tilted her head back as she bit her lip. Dean placed teasing bites down her skin as he pulled the collar of her shirt to one side and kissed her shoulder and chest. She wanted to forget about it, fall back to sleep by Dean's side and pretend it had never happened, but his lips, nipping and sucking gently across her shoulder, were making it difficult to ignore his questions. "I was- I was somewhere dark."

"Hmmm," Dean hummed as he started to slide a little lower, his hands trailing down her sides to push the hem of her shirt up. Charlotte let herself follow the lines of his fingers, marking her skin with gentle scrapes of his nails. "And?"

His lips worked over her stomach with a languid pace, making Charlotte begin to squirm slightly. "And," she started, one of her hands coming up to thread through his hair, "and it wasn't a nice place."

She felt his weight disappear and the bed dip and looked up with a small frown. Dean looked up at her with raised brows as he propped his head on one hand, just above her thigh. His other hand lightly stroked across the tops of her thighs, tracing small circles over her panties. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn shorts to bed and bit her lip with her own raised brows. Dean didn't say anything, he looked at her, waiting, his fingers alternating between scratching against her clothed centre and lightly dragging across it.

"Hell," she whispered with a small whine. She reached up to stroke Dean's cheek, trying to pull him back to what he was originally doing. "I was in hell."

There was a small crease in his brows and slight hesitation before he rolled back between her legs, sat up onto his knees and dragged his fingers down the insides of her thighs before he stroked them back up. "Was somebody getting hurt?"

The muscles in Charlotte's legs twitched and she let a small gasp escape her. Everything felt overly sensitive and she didn't know if she wanted Dean to keep this pace up or just have his way with her and get done with it. "Y-yes," she stuttered and Dean rubbed the palms of his hands across her clothed crotch and down either side of her centre. She closed her eyes again and tilted her head back, trying to keep herself under control from yanking Dean down, rolling them over and doing what she wanted to do. Dean's thumbs teased their way just underneath the fabric of her panties and she couldn't help the way her legs fell slightly further apart. "B-But it wasn't anybody I knew. It- it was some stranger."

Charlotte opened her eyes and watched Dean nod down at her, one of his hands stroking straight over her centre with just enough pressure to tease her. "Guy? Girl?"

She swallowed nervously, her eyes fixed on Dean's intense green stare, burrowing into her. "Guy."

Again, Dean nodded and he leaned down again to leave a trail of kisses across her stomach. His hands slid up her sides again and Charlotte closed her eyes with a frustrated groan. "Were you there?"

"Yes," she ground out, lifting her hips up to try to get some friction against Dean's.

Dean nipped gently with a low groan as he whispered against her skin, "Doing what?"

Charlotte froze, the vivid feeling of her own hands sharpening two blades coming back. Her lips parted and she stared up at the ceiling, the images of the scene she'd woken up from coming back to haunt her. She could almost taste the suffering in the air and it turned her stomach.

"Char?" Dean whispered. She barely registered it as the whimpers echoed inside her mind, the pleas banging against her skull with desperation. There was a new weight all across her body and suddenly Dean's face was above hers, brows furrowed with a worried frown. "Hey," he said a little louder, his eyes taking in every inch of her face. Her lips moved but nothing came out and Dean stared down at her for a few seconds more before he muttered, "Shit."

A choked off snort escaped Charlotte and she looked away, biting hard on her bottom lip. "Shit is right," she whispered harshly.

There was a hand on her face, nudging her eyes back up to meet a set of earnest forest green that silently promised to protect her. "It doesn't matter." Charlotte pursed her lips and ground her teeth together, trying to pull away from him. The idea that Dean wanted to comfort her made her sick and filled her with nothing but self pity.

"Off," she said.

"No. Look at-" she lifted a hand and tried to push him away, but Dean caught her arm and pressed it firmly against the bed. She twisted with a small snarl, her eyes beginning to burn with a flurry of emotions. "Hey! Would you-" His other hand grabbed her other wrist and she let out a small cry, refusing to look anywhere close to Dean's face. "Would you look at me?" Charlotte gave a small shake of her head and Dean sighed, nudging his nose against her cheek. "Look at me, _please_." She glanced at him, looked away again and slowly closed her eyes before she turned her head towards him. She opened her eyes and let out a small sigh, her body sagging with defeat. "Just because you saw it happening-" she opened her mouth to protest and Dean cut her off, "-hey! Just because you saw it happening, doesn't mean it was you."

"It was me."

"Yeah, in hell. When you're here, in bed with me. It's impossible."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, a small trickle beginning to burn her eyes. "Did you forget the part where I've been dreaming of hell for months now?"

It was Dean's turn to roll his eyes and he scoffed. "And? You're still you. You said it yourself, you don't feel different."

_Except for the black eyes I had in the mirror. And Azrael. And the- _"What about the burn on my back? That happened whilst I was sleeping, explain that one?"

Dean frowned, his lips parting as he thought. "Burn? The- Shoulder?" She nodded. "I thought that was a scar."

Charlotte chuckled and shook her head, "Yeah, from hell. Thanks Crowley, I'll treasure it'll forever."

Dean's frown deepened and he shook his head, "Or maybe, maybe you didn't realise you had it, woke up and just noticed it."

She raised her brows and Dean mirrored her look until she sighed. Charlotte closed her eyes and nodded her head going along with it just to try to drop it, "I'm thinking too much into this?"

"You want everything to point to that, so you think it does."

She wanted to believe him, really she did, but for now, all she could was plaster a small smile onto her face and nod. "Okay, I- I guess I didn't- I just assumed-"

Dean's lips started to curl into a smirk, but there was something in his eyes that didn't quite match that smirk. He knew, just like her, he knew that something was terribly wrong, that it was so far from right. But he was done talking about it, wanted to pretend that it would work itself out. "You see? It's fine, just bad dreams. Deep, psychological fears or some crap like that."

"Well hello Dr Seuss, I had no idea I've been fucking you all this time."

"Bite me."

Charlotte smirked and wriggled underneath Dean, "Tell me where and I'm all yours."

Dean growled, his eyes darkening with lust and Charlotte felt the conversation slip from her mind. "Fuck," Dean whispered, "I don't care."

Charlotte's smirk widened and she wrapped one leg around Dean's waist and tugged on the Angel power inside of her to roll them over until she was on top of Dean. He stared up at her, lips parted with a small gasp, and Charlotte bit her lip as she leaned down and wrapped her lips against the juncture of his shoulder, biting hard enough to bruise Dean's skin. He bucked up against her with a breathless moan and Charlotte kissed over that spot before she moved a little further down Dean's shoulder to place another hickey.

"Dean we need to-"

"Fuck!" "Jesus Christ!" Both Dean and Charlotte muttered at the same time, jumping on the bed. Charlotte, lost her balance and fell over the side of the bed, dragging the sheets down with her whilst Dean tried to stop her fall. He ended up twisted over the side of the bed and groaned, slapping a hand onto the night stand to stop himself from completely falling on top of her. "You good?" Dean asked.

Charlotte let out a pant and nodded her head, pulling her shirt back up her shoulder and down over her stomach. "I'm fine." She grabbed the side of the bed with one hand and took Dean's hand with her other hand, using both to pull her up. She flicked her eyes up to the blue eyed Angel that stood on the other side of the room with a slight frown.

"I-" Castiel started, "I came at a bad time."

"We talked about this Cas!" Dean exclaimed as he threw his legs over the side of the bed.

Charlotte tossed the sheets back onto the bed and sighed. "You two need to talk about boundaries."

Dean scoffed as he grabbed a shirt and pulled it over his head. "He's an Angel. Do you guys even have boundaries?"

"No. Not unless you warded a room against us."

"See!"

"Teach your boyfriend about fucking knocking," she growled as she climbed back into bed, rubbing a hand over her ribs. "I'm tired of him interrupting."

Dean rolled his eyes as he grabbed some pants and pulled them over his boxers. "How about I teach him about the sock on the door handle huh?"

"We really should start doing that, unless-"

"Don't even think about it!" Dean started as he pushed Cas towards the door to the motel room.

Charlotte grinned as she laid back down, pulling the sheets over again. She waited until the two of them had left before she sighed and closed her eyes, the smile gone from her face with a worried twist in her stomach. The black eyes came back to haunt her and she prayed that they meant nothing. That it was just the worry and fear eating away at her.

* * *

**A/N:**

**ajwehri: **Gabe gave Sam the clap.

**Elle:** I'm sorry about cutting out the dirty hot sex smutty scenes. I really do want to write them and I intend to add to the "Not For the Kids" fic – all of the M rated scenes in the series. But I've struggled to find the time and such. But I do plan to write them. I promise, and I'm sorry for teasing in this chapter.

She didn't cheat on Alex. She purposely gave Alex a reason to dump her – when she told him about she did for a living, hunting and such. The reasons behind that, were that she couldn't get over Dean, couldn't walk away from the life of hunting and it didn't sit right with her, being with Alex and pretending that the world wasn't falling apart around her.

I think some hunters, despite wanting the apple life, carry on hunting, even if they hate it, because they feel like it's their job to protect the innocent people. If they don't do it, who will? I think this is one of the reasons why Dean and Charlotte keep hunting, that if they stopped there would be nobody else to stop the monsters.

Do you mean like, have I written about an episode that I didn't particularly enjoy? Maybe, _Born Under A Bad Sign. _Chapter 51 in _Kiddy Corral_. It's the one where Meg takes control of Sam. I don't know why but I found it to be, sub par.

The marriage between Charlotte and Dean, for me, is their way of saying that they have something in life. It became something that they could be proud of, that despite everything, they got married and were in love. Most hunters they know live a single life or passing flings. For Dean, he wanted something that signified something more than just a relationship, he wanted a promise that they were theirs. And Dean's always had a soft spot for the romantic things in life. Charlotte on the other hand, at first, so it as a way to make Dean happy. She didn't want to give in and rejected the idea because of the life spans that hunters had. Why set yourself up for heartache? But, she managed to change her opinion that maybe it was a sign of solidarity, them against the world. Demons and Angels be damned.

It's fine, I'm 23. Any particular reason? Or just curiosity?

**Lexi: **Gabriel likes to screw around. He likes winding people up and pushing their buttons. I'm not going to say much more than that though.

Charlotte knew how Jo felt about Dean. She knew that Jo liked the look of him when they met as for Jo knowing about their marriage? Charlotte hasn't gotten around to telling her that yet.

And thank you. I'm sorry it's taken so long but I'm hoping that I'm finally on the up and up. Don't worry about not being able to comment all the time. I still enjoy comments whenever you can if you want to.

And yes, Gabe gave Sam the clap!

**JayWinchester:** I love Gabe. He's such a dick. Again, apologies for any teasing I do with the amount of pre-smut stuff here. But I do plan to do _Abandon All Hope_. There are some things I know for certain, others I don't. I won't spoil it except that there will be tears.


	60. 2009 November part 2

**A/N:** Hey guys, so here's a little Sam and Natalie. Enjoy.

2009 – November

Part 2

_Wisconsin_

Natalie made a small noise as she started to stir, wrapping her arms around her pillow. She turned over, curled up again and flicked her eyes open for a moment. The other side of the bed was empty and she frowned before she blinked and sat up with a yawn. "Sam?"

There was no response and her frown deepened. Her eyes scoured the room and she spotted his bag still tucked away next to her own. "Sam?" Natalie yawned again and reached onto the night stand for her phone. There were three messages from Charlotte and she raised her brows as she clicked on them. Her eyes widened at the picture that filled her screen and she immediately clicked it off, her cheeks heating up.

The door to the motel room clicked open and Natalie placed her phone, screen down, into the sheets as Sam stepped in. He gave her a smile before he tilted his head with a small frown. "You okay?"

Natalie nodded her head with a tight smile, knowing that the blush was giving her away. She cleared her throat and finally took in his appearance of gym clothes, "You er, where'd you go?"

Sam raised a brow and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge. "For a run. I didn't want to disturb you."

Natalie hummed and she watched the way Sam's throat moved as he took a few large swigs of water. "How thoughtful. Did you bring breakfast back with you?"

Sam recapped the bottle and laughed before he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I figured I'd shower first. Besides, I don't know what you like to eat."

Her smile widened and she leaned forward to peck Sam's lips. "Good call."

Thirty minutes later and she sat down across from Sam in the diner of a small town in Wisconsin. She picked up the menu and started to look through the list. She glanced up at Sam and hooked a foot with his, earning a smile from him. He flicked his eyes up to her before he quickly looked away, his smile slipping a little from his face.

Charlotte slid into the booth next to Natalie whilst Dean sat by his brother. "Hey guys." Sam said.

Charlotte smiled and peered over Natalie's shoulder at the menu. "Hey, what's the special?"

She glanced up at Charlotte before she elbowed her gently. "You're disgusting."

Charlotte blinked at her with a small frown for a few moments before she cracked a grin. "It's good right."

Natalie's cheeks started to flush and she glared at Charlotte before she focused on the menu.

"What's good?" Dean asked, yanking the menu from Sam's hands.

"Your ass."

Dean looked from Charlotte to Natalie and back before he looked at Sam and shrugged. "Can't argue with that."

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're about to eat guys."

Charlotte waved him off before she leaned back in her seat. "So we're not going to talk about the case either?"

"That's fine," Natalie said as she laid the menu down, "asses aren't."

"You got something against my ass?"

"Are you guys done?" Sam snapped.

Charlotte pointed to Natalie, "She started the ass talk. Ouch!" Natalie elbowed Charlotte's arm, roughly catching her.

"Can we talk about the people that have been disappearing down the creek?" Natalie asked.

There was a silence for a moment before Sam opened his mouth. A waitress appeared and asked for their orders. Once they'd put their order in Sam started again, "I was thinking that maybe it's a water wraith or water spirit we're dealing with."

Charlotte waved her hand with a shake of her head. "Nah, not enough water and the bodies haven't been found. I'd say ghouls but they don't hunt live meat."

"Wendigo?" Dean offered.

Sam tilted his head to one side, "Wendigo's like to hunt their prey. Plus, they hibernate. People have been disappearing for years here."

Natalie nodded her head. "Wendigo's out then." She clicked her fingers and pointed vaguely at the other three people. "What about Rakshasa?"

Sam frowned and shook his head, "They hunt in populated areas."

"Not always," Charlotte added and she glanced at Natalie. "There was a case in Maine a couple years back, Rakshasa hunting a popular camping spot. At first, it looked like a Wendigo, you know, campers disappering, campsites torn to shreds and ruined."

"Until he tried to jump us," Natalie said.

Dean nodded his head once. "Okay, let's say it is a Rakshasa, why hunt at this creek? There's no easy access, it's like the middle of nowhere."

Sam held a hand up, "Actually it's a popular hunting and fishing spot. Lots of rabbit dens and deers."

Dean looked at Sam before he shrugged a shoulder. "Okami eat people too."

Charlotte pointed a finger at Dean, "Okami are native to Japan. You're not gonna find one over here."

"There's a first for everything."

Charlotte smirked and winked as she said back to Dean, "I'll remember that."

"Rakshasa do sleep on beds of dead insects," Sam added, "and there's got to be a lot of dead insects in the woods."

Dean frowned and opened his mouth to reply when the waitress came back with an armful of plates. Once their food was put in front of them and the waitress had left them again, Dean started, "Fine, we'll go with Rakshasa. It does not mean that I agree."

"Drama queen," Charlotte teased before she scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs. "Ow!" Dean gave her a small grin and she put her fork down, "Can people stop hitting me already?"

* * *

"It's not an Okami! They're native to Japan!"

"Shut up already!"

Natalie sighed and glanced to Sam who shared the same exasperated look. They'd go in expecting a Rakshasa and instead got an Okami. The only reason they were even able to kill it was because Dean had been too suspicious and taken a bamboo dagger.

"_I like to be prepared!" _

"_That's a pretty specific preparation, Dean," Sam had retorted._

_Dean had waved him off. "I was bored and wondered what a Shinto priest was."_

"You two have fun," Natalie started.

"Who was right? Who saved our lives?"

"Keep going on and I'll be taking yours."

Dean chuckled and raised his brows with a smirk, "You love me too much."

Charlotte scoffed and pushed the door to their motel room open, holding a hand up to her arm, "Keep pushing me, Dean, we'll see how much I love you then."

Natalie rolled her eyes and made her own way into the motel room she was sharing with Sam. It had made sense to buy two rooms, instead of spending the extra dollars for a third room, and although it had meant Natalie had ended up sharing a bed with Sam, after much protest from him, she wasn't complaining.

"Do you want the shower first?"

Sam shook his head and fell back onto the queen sized bed, "No I'll wait."

Natalie smiled warmly and locked the bathroom door behind her. _We make a good team_, she thought to herself as she stepped underneath the water, washing the days dirt and dead bugs away.

* * *

**A/N:**

**ajwehri: **Thank you! I'm glad I'm back and there's going to be a lot more inconvenient times ahead.

**Awerry: **Yeah, poor Cas.

**Guest: **Hahahaha, you really made me grin. There is more to come with the trio thing.

I hope this chapter clarifies that. If not, Charlotte really nudged Natalie towards Sam. _Really_ nudged them together.

Charlotte's personality is meant to come across as a female Dean. That was the original idea I went with when I started writing this story, that she was like Dean, except a girl. There are a few differences. She's not as crude when she's alone and she's better behaved alone, but Dean brings out the bad in her.

How much AU there is in the next story, depends on how I end this one. I think I know how I'm ending this one, I've been tossing up between like three or four different endings, but if I do end it the way I want it to at the moment, then there should be some AU. I can't say how much but definitely a big, big AU.

… shhhh. I honestly forgot. And before I knew it, we're here. I might try and fit something in about it, but for now, can we pretend that's not something to worry about? (My bad, I fucked up writing.)

Okay, I see what you mean. Dean asking if he was interrupting anything was meant to come across as Charlotte really just wanting to get off the phone. She'd agreed to kill Lilith and was on a time limit so she really just wanted to finish the conversation. They will both get jealous if they other seems to be flirting with or being flirted with by other people. The whole fidelity thing, I don't think either of them are concerned about the other cheating on them. This, I will put down to they've tried to have an open relationship and it didn't work, they stopped doing that and just agreed to being with each other and only each other. They do get possessive if something does happen, for example Gabriel, but they're not concerned about being cheated on.

I did and I didn't like Lisa. I liked her because she was what Dean wanted. But I didn't like it when she turned around and pretty much told Dean to give up everything he'd known, including his brother, for her. It seemed like she went from being the ideal person who understood, who didn't think he was crazy, who would accept the truth from his lips no matter how bizarre it sounded, who got his nightmares, moments of solitude and grief for his brother, to the person that made him choose. It's like her character was flipped, just because Sam came back into the picture. I understood Lisa's reasoning, but at the same time, it was a total 180 and I don't know. I do and don't like her.

No I have not but I totally have to do one now! Flashback to kids fic!


	61. 2009 November part 3

**A/N:** My apologies. It's a day late and I'm so sorry. I was without the internet last night after work so didn't really have much chance to upload. I should be on time next week!

I know it's another short one, however, the next chapter will be longer. For those who are keeping track, yes, it's going to be the Supernatural Convention chapter. And I am so excited for it.

2009 – November

Part 3

_Wisconsin – Stevens Point _

Charlotte huffed as she slammed the motel door shut behind her. She was covered in dirt and blood, both human and Vampire. She could not wait for a shower and she dropped her bag and eagerly kicked her shoes off the moment she could. The smell of ash clung to her clothes from the bodies she'd burnt to cover up her own tracks.

She unbuttoned her jeans and started to shove them down, the dirt slipping off onto her hands, when somebody gave a small whistle. Charlotte froze and peered up at the bathroom opposite her before she slowly turned her head towards the bed. Gabriel raised his brows at her with a smirk and leaned back as he eyed her hands. "Please, don't stop on my account."

"Perv. What do you want?"

His grin didn't falter as he shrugged a shoulder. "Oh you know, just thought I'd come and tell you how to lock my dear brother away."

Charlotte raised a brow at him and sighed before she buttoned her jeans back up and grabbed the crappy motel chair. She turned it around and sat down on it, folding her arms over the back rest. "Talk."

"With you stinking like that?"

"Bite me."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and sat up. "You humans are so disgusting."

"Tell me something I don't know," she spat back before she sighed and shook her head. "So, Lucifer. Talk."

Gabriel took an exaggerated breath before he held his hands up. "Okay, so,_ Dad _made this, this, cage for Lucy. His own little time out heaven if you will."

She nodded her head slowly and mumbled, "Okay. So, where is this cage?"

"Hell." She frowned and Gabriel opened his mouth again, "It exists in the far corners of hell, where the worst of the worst is. Now, it's locked at the moment, but there is a way to open it and kick his ass back there."

Charlotte nodded and tapped her finger against her arm. "How do we open it?"

"Now that," he clicked his fingers, "is easier said than done." Gabriel scooted forward on the bed so that he was sat on the edge and started to talk, his hands just as animated as his words. "So, you've heard of the four horsemen of the apocalypse."

"Yeah, War, Death, Famine and Pestilence."

"Right, and you've met War." Charlotte's hand instinctively moved to her neck as she fingered the ring around her neck. Gabriel pointed at her with a grin, "That's a first step in the right direction."

She frowned and couldn't help but to pull the ring away from her neck and try to look at it. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Gabriel started, "there's four horsemen and four rings."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes as she eyed Gabriel, her mind ticking over what he was trying to say. No connection between Lucifer and the four horsemen was coming to mind. "I'm lost."

"They're the key!"

She raised her brows and shook her head. "Anybody ever tell you you're cryptic?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes before he leaned forward on his perch. "You need all four rings, they all have one, and a little spell. You use that spell, with those rings, near Lucifer, and the door to his cage opens up. You put him in there and it seals him back in."

Charlotte tilted her head back with a small look and nodded her head. "Okay, I'll bite." She dropped the ring and let it rest against her skin, just below her throat. "How do I get the other rings? Or how do I find them? Pestilence, Death and Famine?"

Gabriel grinned and shrugged. "Getting the rings, is all on you. Finding them however, that is on me."

She pursed her lips as she studied Gabriel's face for a few seconds before she nodded her head once. "You found any of them yet?"

He tilted his head to one side and then the other before he said, "Death's elusive. Unless you're dead. Would not recommend. The other two, I am working on it. They're here, on Earth, they just, haven't really shown their faces yet."

Charlotte raised a brow and couldn't help her small smirk. "I thought Archangels were supposed to be all powerful. All kinds of powers and magic."

He narrowed his eyes at her before he pointed at her and said, "Well maybe somebody shouldn't be so smug with themselves."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Because it's stupid."

"Uh huh," Charlotte mocked. "So you're admitting you guys aren't all that great."

His eyes darkened and a small shiver ran down Charlotte's back at the threat in his gaze. "Don't tempt me, babe."

She rolled her eyes and stood up, "Whatever. Unless you have anything else to say, I'm going to shower."

"It's about time too."

Charlotte glared at him before she stomped to the bathroom. "Get out of my room!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**ajwehri: **I wouldn't have it any other way. (don't worry about it)

**Lexi: **Don't worry about it. I'm still happy you reviewed :) As for what Charlotte sent Natalie, it may have involved Dean... and his ass...


	62. 2009 November part 4

**A/N: **Okay guys, firstly I want to say a big thank you to **Megan** who stormed through part 1 of this story and working their way through part 2. It is awesome to have a new fan who spent three days solid reading _Kiddy Corral_.

Secondly, I got a new job, which means I'll more than likely have to change the update schedule to either Saturday's or Sunday's. I'm leaning more towards Saturday at the moment, but I'll let you know this week. (When I do update.)

For now, please enjoy part 1 of _The Real Ghostbusters _AU style.

2009 – November

Part 4

_Ohio – Vermilion_

Charlotte knocked back another shot and pinched her eyes shut. "Please be gone now," she whispered. "Please, dear God, be fucking gone." She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. When she looked around the room again she sighed and shook her head, turning back towards the bar. "Hey, can I get..." she held her hands up before she slid a ten across the bar, "this in shots?"

The bartender gave her a concerned look as they took the note, one brow arched before he said, "It's not even noon."

"I need it."

After a moment the guy shook his head and started to line up a row of shot glasses. "Just don't puke on the floor. We've got bathrooms right over there."

"Thanks," Charlotte said and she started to knock back the shots as they were poured.

"Whoa there," somebody said from her side and Charlotte glanced at them as she took another shot. He shot her a small smirk coupled with a curious frown and went on, "hitting it a little early aren't we?"

She set the shot glass down and grabbed the next one. "Let's call it a rough day." She let her eyes fall down him and she started to lift the glass up before she paused, her eyes fixed around his neck. A very familiar amulet stared back at her and she couldn't stop the snort that escaped her. "Did you want something? Or just to criticise my drinking choices?"

He looked up her and down before he shrugged a shoulder, "Wondering if I could join you actually." He held a hand out and said, "Name's Dean."

Charlotte's grin widened and she tried not to cringe. "Charlotte," she said.

"Yeah? What brings a girl like you here?"

She stared at him for a moment before she scoffed and turned to face the bar again. "I am not doing this."

"Come on sweetheart-"

"Get lost," she ground out. She could feel him open his mouth and snapped a glare at him, "I won't tell you again." After a few seconds he left, avoiding her gaze, and she let out a groan before she quickly polished off the last four shots. She grabbed her jacket from the stool next to her and turned, intending to storm out and drive away, pushing this place and what she'd witnessed to the back of her mind.

But as she turned she bumped into somebody who growled, "Watch where you're going."

"Bite me," she mumbled.

"Tell me where."

Charlotte froze and finally looked at this stranger and her eyes widened. Blonde hair stared back at her and a bright pair of blue eyes were narrowed into a dangerous smirk. "What did you just say?"

The woman let the dangerous glint fall from her gaze and her face warmed with her smile. "Nice outfit."

Charlotte opened her mouth and snapped it closed with a frown as she looked down at herself. "Outfit," she whispered and she slowly looked back up, "right. Charlotte?"

The woman winked at her with a grin, "My kind of girl."

"Charlotte?"

She turned and Charlotte sighed in relief when she spotted Sam and Dean. She gave the look a like an apologetic smile and quickly stepped over to the boys, grabbing Dean's arm. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Oh, my God," another blonde girl said and Charlotte stared at her worriedly. "Are you really Charlotte? The Charlotte? You're real too?"

Charlotte looked from Dean to Sam and it was Dean who waved a hand between them. "Charlotte, this is Becky, Becky, Charlotte. We can- sort of- explain."

She narrowed her eyes at him and glanced around the room again, "Start talking. Why- why are people dressed up as us? And monsters?"

"It's awesome!" Becky supplied and Charlotte stared at her wide eyed. "It's a Supernatural convention. The first ever."

"Supernatural convention? What?" She looked from Dean to Sam again, hoping that one of them would explain a little better. "What does that have to do with us? And how complete strangers know, _everything _about us_?" _

Sam cleared his throat and gave her a tight smile. "It's a long story."

"Yeah," Dean added, "one we need a lot of beer for."

"I've already started," Charlotte said.

Sam frowned at her, "It's not even twelve."

"There are people dressed as me, you, Dean, Bobby, who happen to know about our lives through what I've just discovered to be a dumb series of books."

"Hey!" Becky interrupted, "They're not dumb. They're a series of books about the bonds of family being strong when everybody is at their worst. They're tales of life and death situations, of knowing whether or not Dean and Sam would make it to the next day. They're full of heartache, when Sam had to kill Madison for example, love, hope, loss, pain. They're a picture into the human soul and-"

"_I've lived through that. We all have." _

"Okay," Dean added, stepping between them. He grabbed Charlotte's shoulders and pushed her back a step. "Look, we'll explain, everything-"

"Come on," Becky said, "we're going to miss the Q and A."

Charlotte watched Sam be dragged away and she glanced back at Dean who guided her in the same direction. "Q and A?"

"Last year, there was this guy, Chuck. Only, he goes by Carver Edlund for these guys," Dean started and they came to a stop in the auditorium where chairs were lined up, facing a stage. Half of the sears were full and there were pictures on stage of book covers and character images. "He's a prophet of the lord."

"A what?"

"Like Moses," Sam added, "he got these messages, or images, of our lives."

"Right," Dean went on and he tried to carry on when somebody on stage interrupted them.

"Welcome to the first annual Supernatural convention. At 3:45 in the Magnolia room we have the panel, 'Frightened little boy, the secret life of Dean'. And at 4:30 there's the 'Homoerotic subtext of Supernatural'."

"The what-" Dean said.

Charlotte raised her brows before she tilted her head to one side, "A lot of gay stuff does happen in our lives."

"Oh, and of course the big hunt starts at 7pm sharp." There was a big round of applause along with a chorus of cheers before the manager went on. "But right now, I'd like to introduce the man himself. The writer, the creator of the Supernatural books. The one, the only, Carver Edlund!"

Charlotte watched a short, nervous guy with brown hair walk timidly onto the stage. "That's Chuck?"

"Yep," Dean said.

She frowned and gave him a once over. "I kinda expected a prophet to be more… something."

Dean shrugged a shoulder and added, "He's an alcoholic too."

"Nice," she said.

"Shhh," Becky hushed.

"Okay, okay, good. This isn't nearly as awkward as I…." he cleared his throat and Charlotte raised a brow. "Dry mouth." He stepped away from the microphone and grabbed a bottle of water, chugging half of it in one go. "Okay, erm, so I guess… questions?"

Every hand in the room shot up and Charlotte glanced at the people with a sigh before somebody was single out. He stood up and excitedly asked, "Hey., Mr Edlund. Big fan. I was just wondering where'd you get the idea for Sam and Dean in the first place?"

Chuck seemed to look at them and his eyes connected with Charlotte's for a moment before he whispered. "Erm, erm, I- I- it just came to me." There was a brief silence before hands shot up into the air again. Charlotte folded her hands across her chest and raised her brow as Chuck pointed out another fan. "Okay, yeah, the hook man."

"Ja," the guy started in a strong German accent, "Why in every fight scene, Sam and Dean are having their gun knocked away by the bad guy? Why don't they keep it on some sort of bungee?"

Charlotte snorted and shook her head.

"I- I really don't know," Chuck answered.

"Follow up. Why can't Sam and Dean be telling that Ruby is evil?" Charlotte raised her brow at this question and listened to the rest of the question with mild irritation. "I mean, she is clearly manipulating Sam into some kind of moral lapse. It's obvious, nein?" She looked up at Sam to see him grinding his teeth, but when Charlotte looked past him to Becky she saw nothing but fury.

"Hey!" she yelled as she stormed down the rows of chairs. "If you don't like the books, don't read them Fritz."

"Wow," Charlotte whispered.

"You haven't seen anything," Dean whispered back.

"Okay, okay, it's- it's okay, just, next question," Chuck stammered out.

Another guy stood up and started, "Yeah, at the end of the last book, Dean goes to hell." Charlotte glanced at Dean and caught the flash of memories in his eyes before she turned back to the room to hear the rest of the question, "So, what happens next?"

She frowned, her eyes fixed on Chuck. "Oh, well, there lies an announcement, actually. You're all going to find out."

Dread started to fill Charlotte and she dropped her arms to her sides.

Chuck gave a nervous chuckle, his eyes falling on them three as he elaborated. "Thanks to a wealthy Scandinavian investor, we're going to start publishing again."

The room erupted into cheers and whoops and Charlotte stared at Chuck through the cheering arms of the crowd. "I'm going to kill him," she whispered.


	63. 2009 November part 5

**A/N:** Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out to you. It's been a busy week sorting out leaving one job, starting another, saying goodbye to people and trying to sort everything out and starting to learn a lot of new stuff. Here's the next part of _The Real Ghostbusters. _Enjoy.

2009 – November

Part 5

_Ohio – Vermilion_

Charlotte glared at Chuck across the room as she leaned heavily on her elbow at the bar. Since Chuck had announced the new series of the books there had been over a dozen more questions from the audience, some of which involved her. Some of them had her raising a brow - "Why is Charlotte such a bitch?" - whilst others made her smile in humour - "Is she something you want a woman to be?" - but her favourite part had been watching the so called Prophet stutter through his answers whilst she had glared at him, her arms firmly folded over her chest.

And now, now that the panel was over, now that everybody had dispersed for drinks and to mingle, she was trying to temp the anger burning inside of her chest. How could some stranger, after finding out his characters were real, that their lives were real, keep publishing? How could he pretend that he wasn't portraying their lives for the world to see? How the hell was he doing it? And what gave him the right to their lives?

She flicked her eyes up to Sam and Dean, quietly mumbling to each other and she glanced back at Chuck. After a few seconds she clucked her tongue, pushed away from the bar and made a beeline for him. He was in the middle of saying something to Becky before she grabbed his arm, pulled him up from his seat and dragged him towards the entrance, "Keep walking," she growled at him.

"Okay, okay, ow, ow, ow, can we-"

"Shut up," she snapped before she marched him out of the door and finally released him. She heard the door open and shut behind her again, but Charlotte's glare was fixed on Chuck who took a step away from her. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Okay, okay, I see," he started, stumbling over his feet slightly as he took another step back, "uhm, well, er-"

"Who gives you the right to _our lives_?"

"Char," Dean mumbled with one hand on her shoulder, "don't kill him."

"Yeah," Chuck started, "please, don't."

"It's still on the table!"

Sam cleared his throat and stepped between them, "Not when _Michael_ will destroy you."

She blinked up at him, ground her teeth together and shrugged a shoulder, "I'd like to see him try."

"Okay!" Dean said before he pushed her a step away from Chuck and held a hand up as she opened her mouth. "I know, I know. Just-" He turned around to face Chuck, took a deep breath himself and held his hands up, "She has a point! It's _our _lives."

Sam nodded his head, "Yeah. They're not for public consumption."

Chuck looked between them all before he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Do you guys know what I do for a living?"

"Yeah Chuck, we know," Sam said.

"Then could you tell me?" Charlotte gave him a look and folded her arms over her chest. "Cause I don't, all right? I'm not a good writer. I've got no marketable skills. I'm not some hero who can just hit the road and fight monsters, Ok? Until the world ends, I gotta live, all right? And the Supernatural books are all I've got. What else do you want me to do?"

Charlotte raised a brow and opened her mouth to s nap back at him before a woman's scream interrupted her. She snapped her head over her shoulder and frowned worriedly. Dean and Sam ran off before she had a chance to move and she frowned, glancing back at Chuck as he started to say, "No, guys... wait!"

"What?"

Chuck sighed and flicked his gaze back to her, "It's part of the hunt."

"The _what_?"

"They're holding a hunt, a pretend ghost hunt for the guests. They get to 'hunt ghosts and look for clues'."

"Wow," she said before she shook her head and dropped her hands. "You're ridiculing our lives right now. Thanks."

"It's not my-"

Charlotte held her hands up and turned. "I'm done! I'm out! Sayonara." She made her way back into the building and headed straight to the bar, by passing every Dean and Sam impersonator. With a heavy sigh she slapped a twenty dollar bill onto the top and held her head in one hand. "Whiskey shots til I pass out."

"I'm not calling you a cab," the bartender warned.

She gave him a tight smirk and shrugged a shoulder, "Already have one."

The bartender gave her a look before she shook her head, mumbled, "Whatever," and started to line up a series of shot glasses.

"Charlotte," Chuck mumbled and she lifted her head to see him standing next to her. She gave him a look and he sighed before he took a seat next to her and grabbed one of her shots. "Look, when I started this, I didn't- I didn't think this was real- you, Dean, Sam, demons. I didn't. I just- I thought it was just- hallucinations."

"And now that we're not?" He opened his mouth and almost started to say something before he closed his mouth again. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she muttered.

"Hey, Chuck," Becky's sickly sweet voice interrupted and Charlotte looked up to see Becky slide into the seat next to Chuck, one hand on his shoulder and her eyes almost glaring at Charlotte. "Is everything okay?"

Charlotte pointed a finger between them, a shot of whiskey between her thumb and middle finger, and said, "What's the story here?"

"I'm his number one fan," Becky started excitedly.

Charlotte raised her brows and glanced at Chuck. "Really?"

"I know what you're thinking," he started.

"Really?"

"I know everything about Supernatural," Becky chimed with an air of smugness.

Charlotte pursed her lips into a tight smirk and nodded her head slowly. "Really?"

"Like how Sam secretly enjoys Dean's choice in music and how Sam has this small birthmark on his left hip." Charlotte frowned and tilted her head, wondering if that piece of information was in her own head. She shrugged it off and tipped her shot back as Becky said, "And how you like to top Dean."

Charlotte looked over at Becky, swallowed back the whiskey and shrugged a shoulder, "A woman likes what she likes." She glanced at Chuck with a narrow glare and said, "And just how much of that stuff do people know?"

Chuck swallowed nervously and shrugged a shoulder, "I needed to get it out of my head."

"Great," she mumbled.

"This is a bust," Dean interrupted and Charlotte looked to her other side to see Dean and Sam lean against the bar, Sam glancing around the room whilst Dean flicked his gaze to her shots. He reached out and took two, sliding one over to Sam. "It's all fake."

"I know."

"Thanks for the invite," Dean mumbled.

Charlotte raised her brows and glanced back at Chuck. "You invited them?"

He sighed and nodded to Becky, "She did."

Charlotte nodded her head to Becky who grinned with pride. "Oh she's a keeper alright."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi: **Thanks. Charlotte's definitely going to be learning a lot more about these books than she thought.

The whole Natalie and Becky thing is going to be interesting is all I can say.

**Elle:** Okay, I'm going to try to answer your questions as best as I can.

Peter was never 100% sure that Charlotte was his. He and Helen (yes they'd known each other for years before Matthew) had had a on and off again relationship for various reasons. Matthew came into Helen's life during one of their apart periods and Helen went back to Peter, finding out a short while later that she was pregnant.

Helen knew that Matthew was the father but Peter was never 100% certain but he had promised Helen that it didn't matter, that he would love the child his or not.

They got married whilst Helen was pregnant and whilst it was a little unusual and unconventional, their families were understanding and still loved them (both being only childs).

If Charlotte's Mother had never died and both parents brought her up, I imagine she would be less snap angry and less bitter than she is now. There'd also be a chance that she'd be more inclined to settle into a long term relationship a lot sooner than she did.

If however, Peter had been the one to die first, I imagine Charlotte would still have grown up the same.

**Awerry:** Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this!


	64. 2009 November part 6

**A/N: **I am so sorry it's a day late. But I hope you enjoy the rest of _The Real Ghostbusters_. Let me know what you guys think! Enjoy!

2009 – November

Part 6

_Ohio – Vermilion_

"For the last time, I'm not making this up ok? She's upstairs, a real live ghost!"

Charlotte looked past Dean and Sam to the guy who was freaking out. She raised a brow and listened to the guys friend try to calm him down, "I'm sure it was just one of the ghost actors."

"Who beat the hell out of me and then vanished?"

"That sounds worrying," Charlotte whispered.

"God if this place is actually haunted," Dean muttered back.

"You saw something?" Sam asked him.

The guy turned to Sam with a glare and Charlotte could almost hear the venom in his words, "This isn't part of the game, jerk." He turned back to his friend and said, "Look, I'm getting out of here and you should do the same."

"Alex wait, come back!"

Charlotte followed the two men as they scampered out of the room and tapped her finger on top of one of the shot glasses. "I'll go grab my EMF," she mumbled as she turned away from the bar. "Enjoy the shots."

"We'll ask the manager for the real story on this place."

"Got it," Charlotte said and she made her way back to the front of the hotel. She sighed as she stepped outside and towards her car, shaking her head at the very thought that this place with a fake hunt had an actual hunt. She rolled her head about her shoulders with another sigh and grabbed the keys to her car, opened the trunk and held it open as she pulled out a rock salt filled shotgun and two iron bars, laying them on top of everything before she grabbed her EMF meter and closed the trunk.

"Long day?"

Charlotte jumped before she pinched her eyes shut with a groan. Slowly she cracked her eyes open and narrowed her gaze at Gabriel with a raised brow. "What do you want?"

"I thought we were doing better than that?" She raised the other brow and waited for him to roll his eyes and groan. He folded his arms on top of Charlotte's car, emphasising the puppy look in his eyes as he studied her with a small pout. "No fun, all work, makes you a dull girl." He held his chin in both hands, propping himself up by his elbows, and started, "I've been a very busy boy."

"Can you get to the point?"

He made a dramatic sigh, rolling his head with his eyes before he slapped his hands onto the roof of Charlotte's car and tilted his head up slightly. "I have found Death."

She frowned for a moment before her eyes softened and she parted her lips with understanding. Charlotte let her shoulders slouch a little as she realised exactly where this conversation was going. She could feel her chest pinch with protest at her plan and she took a deep breath before she slowly nodded her head. "Okay, where is he?"

"Last time I checked he was down in New Orleans. But he doesn't like to hang out in one place for too long."

The words ticked over in Charlotte's mind for a few seconds before her shoulders sagged a little more and she let out a small, "I have to leave now?"

He tilted his head to one side with a small quirk to his mouth. "It would be advisable."

"Or what?"

"Or it will take me some time to find him again. Death isn't a guy you find. He finds you."

Charlotte ran a hand through her hair and glanced back at the hotel. She could leave Sam and Dean to this, it couldn't be anything more than a simple salt and burn, but then having to explain why she was ditching them? That would mean trying to tell them what her plan was... and neither would let her do it.

She sighed and shook her head as she slowly flicked her gaze back to Gabriel. "Rain check."

He held her gaze for a moment before he tipped his head forward, brows raised, and said, "Were you not listening? This is something I can't just do with a clcik o-"

"I know," she mumbled tiredly, "I know, I just," she ground her teeth together and let out a frustrated noise. "Rain check," she said with an air of finality. "Rain check."

With a stern glare she turned her back on Gabriel and stomped her way back into the hotel, instant regret starting to crawl up her insides. Her mind flash backed to last year, when she delayed in killing Lilith, and she hesitated with her hand on the door. "Next time," she promised to herself, shoving the door open with a firm glare.

Charlotte tapped away at her phone, telling Dean that the next time there was a hunt in a hotel filled with wannabe hunters, to shoot her.

_D: Could be worse could be with us_

That made her smile slightly.

_C: __What are they mocking this time?_

_D: The time Sam tried to kill me._

_C: Which time?_

_D: Bitch_

Charlotte smiled warmly and bit her lip.

_C: Take that back and I'll consider making it worth your while_

_D: Keep talking_

Charlotte grinned and started to type out a reply when she felt somebody approach her. She lifted her head to see Chuck giving her a tight smile and pull out the empty seat next to her. _Rain check _she typed out before she shoved her phone into her pocket with a curious frown, "Yes?"

"I know what you're doing."

She tipped her head back and straightened up in her seat. Sam and Dean had left with two 'fans' to go dig up Leticia's bones and burn them. Her job had been to stay behind and make sure the ghost of the woman didn't hurt anybody else. "Three hunters is a little excessive," Sam had stated. She'd decided to hang out in the bar room of the motel room, huddled in one corner with a bottle of beer to pass the time. Talking with a prophet who had seen everything there is to see about her life was not on the list of things for her to do. "What _am _I doing?"

He raised his brows before he sighed and clasped his hands on top of the table top. "With the Archangel Gabriel? Looking for the other Horsemen?"

Charlotte couldn't help but to lift a hand and touch the ring around her neck, a small warmth spreading through her fingertips before she pulled them away and felt the warmth slip away. "You mean trying to stop Lucifer from tearing a family and a world apart?"

"You'll be tearing your own family apart if you do do this." She ducked her head and pursed her lips with a small glare. "I get why you're doing it, why you think there's no other way."

She scoffed and lifted her head to give him a superficial smile. "You don't know anything."

"I know about Crowley, about your deal, about the dreams in hell. I know that you feel lost, like you've already lost the fight, like no matter what you've got nothing to look forward to."

She felt a shiver run across her shoulders. She frowned and straightened up in her seat before she flicked her eyes around the room.

"You've talked to Sam and Dean so much about lying to one another, about withholding the truth and yet here you are doing the exact same thing."

"Do you feel that?" she whispered, eyes focused on the room.

"Feel what?" There was another shiver across her back and she couldn't help the uncomfortable roll of her shoulders. She pushed her chair back and slowly stood up, taking a slow deep breath with a curious frown. "Are you trying to change th-"

"Shut up," she mumbled and she grabbed the EMF meter she'd left on the table and turned it on. It lit up greedily and she frowned, grabbing her phone and immediately dialling Dean's number. The moment he picked up she said, "Did you salt the bones?"

"We're outside," he urged and she heard the rattle of a door on the other end of the line but not in the room. "We're locked out."

"We'll talk later," Chuck urged quietly before he walked away. She watched him walk towards the auditorium and she remembered the panel Chuck had with the guests.

"Yeah I didn't hear that over here. Another ghost?"

"Leticia was the only angry ghost?"

"Sam's checking every exit out here. Anything happened yet?"

"N-" there was a scream from upstairs and Charlotte turned to the sound. "Yep," she muttered before she hung up, shoving her phone in her pocket, and hurried up the stairs.

She caught a woman dressed like a ghost rushing towards her who cried, "Don't go in there!"

"Ok," Charlotte whispered, "go downstairs, go, go." She let the woman pass her and rushed into the room she'd come from and stopped, her eyes transfixed on the small ghost boy crouched over in the corner of the room. "Hey," she called out, "you okay kid?"

"They sent Mommy away."

Charlotte raised a brow and nodded her head slowly, "And you're upset about that?" She noticed that the kids head looked scalped and licked her lips, "I mean, she did hurt you right?"

"Mommy didn't do this."

Charlotte frowned, dread starting to clamour inside of her. "Then who did?" The boy disappeared and Charlotte pursed her lips with a small frown. Leticia wasn't the one who had hurt her son, which meant that there was another angry ghost. But that didn't explain the boy hanging around...right?

There was another scream from upstairs again and she pinched her eyes shut for a moment before she hurried up the stairs and towards the sound of the noise. She turned the corner and stopped, eyes wide as she took in the sight before her. The guy dressed as the hook man was on the floor dead, his head scalped just like the little boy. "Shit," she whispered and she dug her phone out to try to call Dean again. The signal dropped and she shook her head with a groan, "Dicks. I hate ghosts."

She rushed downstairs to the kitchen, ignoring the looks the chef gave her and opened cupboards, pulling out bottles of salt. "You hear about the awesome panel? They're getting really riled up in there."

The chef gave her a look and Charlotte just grabbed his arm, tugging him in the direction of the auditorium. She tried to remember the story of Leticia as she guided other staff towards the auditorium, ignoring their complaints.

Leticia had sliced and butchered four boys including her own son, but if her son's words were right, that his mother hadn't sliced his head open, then that meant perhaps the three other boys were responsible. Mommy Leticia found out and sliced them up in revenge. "Crap," she whispered as she worked her way around the edge of the room and towards the stage. She ignored the looks she could feel from the room and walked straight up to Chuck to whisper in his ear, "You need to keep everybody in here. There's more than one ghost and a dead body upstairs."

"What? Seriously?"

Charlotte glared at him before she hissed quietly, "Man up for once in your life. Keep everybody here to keep them alive. Got it."

"For how long?"

"Who cares?" Charlotte hissed back, "Just keep them here." She hurried off stage, passing Becky on her way with a small mumble of, "Make sure he keeps everybody here," before she left, closing the doors behind her. She grabbed the salt and made a thick line of salt in front of the door before she grabbed the iron rod she'd found before. She gripped it with both hands and took a few hesitant steps forward. "Marco?" she called out.

She prayed that Sam and Dean had worked out what was going on and stepped through the hotel, starting her way up the stairs. The first boy had been seen in the library, which meant there was every chance of the boys being there. At least, she wanted to keep them there just in case. "Come out come out where ever you are!" she called out.

There was a noise from one of the rooms and she tilted her head in that direction before she started towards it. "Oh boys! I got a nice cold present for you! I know you didn't like the nanny! I'm worse than her!"

"Did you send her away?"

She spun on the spot, iron bar held high and stared at just one boy. Charlotte flicked her eyes around the room, wondering where the other two boys were and shrugged a shoulder. "I know who did."

"She wouldn't let us have any fun."

"Well that was mean of her wasn't it," Charlotte humoured, taking a step closer. "Where are your friends?"

The boy stared up at her before he grinned creepily, tilted his head to one side and chanted, "Playing with your friends."

Charlotte tensed for a moment before she ground her teeth together and swung. The boy disappeared with a swing of the bar and Charlotte groaned. "Shit," she whispered before she started back towards the stairs.

The doors slammed shut in her face and she felt herself thrown back across the room, her head bouncing off the floor. A different boy appeared above her and she felt his weight on her chest whilst another boy held a knife above her head. "Now we can play as much as we want," the boys taunted together.

Charlotte reached up, trying to hold back the knife as the boy tried to bring it down towards her. "Fuck off," she cursed, struggling slightly against his supernatural strength.

The third boy appeared, chuckling as he worked on pulling her wrists away and she felt more weight press down on her chest, making it harder to breath. "Play with us," he chanted, "play with us."

She could feel him pressing closer and closer with the knife and could feel the breath of cold metal across her forehead before all three apparitions went up in smoke and flames. She coughed as air rushed into her lungs, making her gasp and choke on the new sensation before she slowly looked around the room and let out a breath. Charlotte laid back against the floor, letting the coolness of it wash over the warmth of adrenaline that slowly slipped from her bloodstream and took deep breaths.

She lost track of how long she laid there, but eventually she rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up, wiping her hands over her face. Her fingers pressed against something cold and wet and when she looked at them red stared back. "Shit," she groaned, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe at her head.

Her phone buzzed and she climbed to her feet, digging one hand to her pocket as she looked for the nearest reflective surface. "Yeah?"

"Oh thank god," Dean breathed out.

"Took you long enough," she mumbled, "you guys here now?"

"I'm downstairs. Sam went back with the chuckle brothers to get the bones. Where are you?"

"Upstairs," she said. She found a mirror and glanced at her reflection with an internal wince. On the other end of the line she could hear Dean's feet hitting the steps, some of them creaking whilst others groaned at the weight. "Library," she directed before she hung up and she pulled a little more on the sleeve of her shirt to try to clean up the blood a little more. She spat onto it and wiped at her forehead again, temporarily removing the red stain around the thin slice.

The door burst open then and she caught Dean's eyes in his reflection jump straight to her head. "You okay?" he muttered, rushing towards her and turning her around.

His eyes looked her over, looking for anything else and she tried to brush him off. "It's just a superficial cut. Nothing serious."

His fingers pressed gently at the edges of the wound and he winced. "Might need stitches."

"It can wait."

Finally his eyes met hers and his hands slipped down to cup her face before he smiled warmly. "Come on," he mumbled, "somebody panicked and called the police. Sam's downstairs trying to explain to a few nerds what really happened."

Charlotte snorted and grabbed his wrist. "Anybody ever tell you you worry too much?" She tugged him gently towards the door, still wary about the cut across her head.

Dean chuckled and pressed a hand to her back as he let her pass through the door first. "Anybody ever tell you that you get into _way_ too much trouble."

"Hypocrite."

"Suck it."

"Maybe later."

She could hear Dean stop in his tracks and glanced over her shoulder with a small wink before she made her way down the stairs. Everybody was milling about, talking loudly about what had happened, about the ghost that they'd seen and about Chuck getting rid of it. She snuck her way outside and to where Sam stood with Chuck, Dean close behind, and made herself as small as possible to avoid any extra questions.

"I'll just have to find a way to keep living, I guess," Sam said when they approached and Charlotte raised a brow at the mock sad expression on his face. She'd missed a whole lot of something.

"Keep on living?"

"Oh my God," Becky chimed, "are you okay?"

Charlotte waved her off with a shrug, "It'll heal. What was that about living?"

"Oh," Becky said and she lifted her and Chuck's entwined fingers, "I was apologising to Sam, telling him that it wasn't meant to be. I only have eyes for Chuck."

"That looks like it hurts," Chuck added.

Charlotte flicked her gaze to Chuck and tipped her head back slightly. She ignored his comment as she looked back at Becky with a small frown, "You do know he has a girlfriend?"

"What?" Becky said.

Charlotte felt the corners of her mouth quirk up and filed this moment away to mock Sam later with it. She could feel the younger Winchester trying not to kill her where she stood whilst Dean snickered behind her. "Her name's Nat, real hottie. I don't know why Sam's trying to cheat on her though?"

"I know," Becky ground out, wide, glaring eyes turning on Sam, "it's like somebody forgot to mention one very important fact."

"Yeah," Sam added, trying to look sheepish about it, "sorry."

"We should go," Dean added.

Charlotte nodded and took a step back before Chuck said, "Oh, remember what I said."

"What did you say?" Becky immediately questioned. "When did you say it?"

"Yeah," Charlotte offered half heartedly, "just remember, no more books. Or I'll hurt you."

Chuck cleared his throat and nodded his head once, "Right, got it."

She turned away and could hear Sam and Dean beside her. Dean was the first one to speak, "What did he mean?"

Charlotte shrugged her shoulder with a small glance at Dean, "I don't know."

"Uh huh, you must have some idea."

"I wasn't really listening, I was too busy trying to think what I wanted to do to you later today."

"Eww," Sam interrupted, "alright that's it, Dean, give me the keys. I'm going to go find a motel room. You two find one somewhere else."

Dean chuckled and held his keys out to Sam, "What's the matter Sammy? Jealous that we're going to have a great time?"

"No, I just don't want to bleach my ears out because you two don't know how to be quiet."

Charlotte bit her lip with a snigger and shrugged her shoulder, "Dean's great."

"And she's good."

"Oh, I am not listening!" Sam almost shouted as he made a bee line for the Impala.

Charlotte shook her head and pulled her own keys out to her car. She sighed as her eyes glanced over the dents and bumps she hadn't fixed yet and she made a mental note to get around to it. Something niggled at her and she looked back towards the hotel where Chuck and Becky were talking furiously at the front door, other guests milling around, passing a comment to them, before they disappeared inside.

Chuck had voiced his concern that this wasn't a good idea, teaming up with Gabriel to track down the Horsemen and stop Lucifer. But they had no other options at this point. Lucifer was the devil and they had no way to kill the Devil. The Colt had disappeared when she'd shot Natalie instead of Lilith and she wondered if Crowley had taken it with him and if he had would he even help her.

"Hey!" She whipped her head round to face Dean's worried frown and raised her brows. "You okay?"

She pursed her lips into a small smile and nodded. "I'm good," she mumbled, not believing the tone of her voice for a second and she hoped Dean would buy the lie.

He studied her for a moment before he nodded his head once, "Alright, let's find some place to look at your head. It's bleeding again."

"Awesome," she mumbled as she wrenched the car door open and climbed in. She turned the engine on and glanced at Dean. She flicked him another smile before she set the car into drive and reached over to grab his hand, squeezing it a little. She tried to reassure herself that everything was fine, that Chuck hadn't warned her about the after effects of her suicidal idea, that the world wasn't ending, that Dean was on the verge of going crazy from this whole fate deal and that maybe, just maybe, they could all stop.

She prayed pitifully, half curious to what Matthew was doing right now and half begging him to help her get her head on straight, to help convince her that this path was the right path, for everyone.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi:** Thank you for understanding. It's been a complete shift in work patterns and even my social life has changed drastically because of a simple job change so I'm still working out a rhythm for everything.

I kind of imagine Charlotte to dress simply. Usually it's jeans, a t-shirt and a shirt over that, usually with long sleeves or three quarter sleeves. Her usual choice of jacket, in my head, would be in the winter a kind of military style jacket with an attached hood. In the summer, when she's relaxing at home, it's shorts but on hunts it's always jeans and the t-shirts become vest tops usually. Hayley Marshall is a good example of how Charlotte would dress and I know what you mean about the face claim because Claire Holt is so different.


	65. 2009 December

**A/N: **Hey guys! I hope you enjoy the next chapter! Let me know what you think!

* * *

2009 – December

_Arizona – Florence_

Charlotte stepped out of her car, a small chill sweeping over her. She closed her eyes with a small sigh and felt nausea begin to creep into her stomach. She had to steady a hand on the side of her car to give her a moment to breathe before she stood back up and looked around. Gabriel had told her that Pestilence was in town, and to be careful. She gripped the gun and knife in her hands tightly, her eyes scanning the silent town.

"_I don't want to catch anything." _

"_Oh but I can?"_

"_You probably already have."_

"_Stop projecting your sexual life onto mine." _

She felt a dull ache start deep in her bones and sit with her with an obvious intention of sticking around. It felt like tendrils beginning to wrap around her muscles and she took a step closer towards the centre of town. This was definitely the place to be with the putrid stench that hung in the air. There was a sense of sickness just crawling across her skin and she felt sick just standing around.

Charlotte started to walk to the nearest shop, gently propping it open to peer inside. She immediately closed the door, twisting her head away with a wince. Somebody had definitely died in there. "Fuck," she coughed between mouthfuls of air and rancid stink. She took several steps away before she started back down the main road, wondering where she was supposed to find this horseman of the apocalypse.

All Gabriel had told her was that he was a sick dude, "Literally. Like, all of the diseases." She shook her head and felt the ache in her stomach get worse. He was definitely here. With a deep breath she took large strides across town. The more she walked the more her stomach twisted and her head started to feel heavy. Her steps started to slow and she stopped twenty seconds later to lean one arm against the side of a bank and bend over at the stomach, her throat gagging for her to throw up. It was right there, sneaking up on her and it wouldn't budge an inch.

She screwed her eyes shut and could feel the heat build underneath her skin. "Fuck," she groaned quietly. She doubled over and dry heaved, her stomach twisting and pinching against her ribs with a hot burning sensation ripping across her sides. Charlotte hissed through her teeth and felt a deep, painful shiver run through her and she felt her knees go. She hit the floor, her head thumping gently against the brick building, one arm clutching her stomach, before she slowly twisted herself to sit back against it, her skin flushed and her heart racing.

Maybe this was a mistake. She hadn't even seen the guy and he was doing this to her.

Everything hurt and her vision started to blur. Her limbs started to grow heavy and she screwed her eyes shut with another hiss.

"Don't worry," a voice said, his tone old and almost mocking, "it doesn't take long."

She coughed out a grin and short laugh before she cracked her eyes open the look up at who she assumed was Pestilence. Somehow he wasn't what she was expecting. He was dressed in a suit, tie included, and had grey hair that was starting to recede. "What am I looking at here doc? Weeks? Days?"

His smile twisted into a smirk as he crouched down next to her. "Seconds."

Charlotte coughed violently and she felt herself cough something up, maybe blood, phlegm she didn't know, but it coloured the corner of her lips and she tasted something vile on the back of her lips. "But I've got to make it to my next birthday. It's right around the corner."

He sighed and she turned her head to see him sit down next to her. He grabbed the gun from her limp fingers and easily started to disassemble it. "You Hunters are so narrow minded." Charlotte coughed again, her chest burning sharply each time and she felt pain creep down her spine. "You think that everything that hurts you is bad. But diseases, viruses, they're the pure things on this Earth. They have one thing in mind, divide and conquer." She groaned, her body flinching at the new wave of pain that rushed over her. "That's late stage stomach cancer, scarlet fever, and a couple of other things."

"Your moth-" she started before she groaned and snapped her teeth together with a hiss, "mother ever tell you to wrap it before you tap it?"

Pestilence raised his brows at her before he shook his head. "Humans are so fragile and weak and yet God wanted us to worship you, take care of you, praise you over him, over everything."

Charlotte took deep shaky breaths, her whole body shaking with pain, fear and agony. She tried to summon up whatever strength she had, whatever strength her angel side could still give her and slowly tightened her grip on the knife still between her fingers.

"Consider this me," Pestilence went on, his lips twisting into a vile smirk, "tearing God's beloved creations apart, one by one. One disease at a time."

Charlotte coughed, her body jerking with the motion and she ground her teeth harshly, blood starting to coat the back of her mouth. "I wasn't on God's agenda," she growled before she held the knife away from her body and rolled her weight onto Pestilence. She shoved her shoulder against his chest and groaned as she frantically tried to press his hand down. He started to push her off of him and she growled, begging the strength inside of her to fight a little more. She felt a small surge and firmly wrapped her fingers around Pestilence's wrist, pinned it down and brought the knife down across his fingers, cutting three of them off.

Pestilence yelled and shoved her away from him. She fell in a lump across from him and the aches disappeared in a rush as the cool air washed over her. Her breathing evened out and she wiped a hand across her mouth before she scrambled forward and grabbed the ring that had fallen off his fingers.

Pestilence stood and stepped away from her with a growl, glaring down at her. "You can't stop him. It's too late," he warned before he disappeared.

She let out a final cough and blinked as she slowly glanced around at the still silent town. Charlotte slowly licked her lips and carefully stood up. Her bones cracked as she stretched and she felt her muscles protest quietly at the sudden ease. She looked down at the ring in her hand and sighed before she stuffed it into her pocket and reached down to grab the pieces of her gun. She slid it back together and slowly made her way back to her car.

The sound of somebody suddenly clapping made her jump and Charlotte turned to glare at Gabriel. "Well done my little maid."

"Fuck you," she growled before she shoved him out of her way and stomped into her car. She dropped her gun and knife in the passenger seat and started the engine when she heard something rustle behind her. She flicked her gaze at the rearview mirror and sighed when she spotted Gabe lounging across the back seats. "What do you want?"

"Was that that hard?"

"I almost died," she growled as she started her car.

"But you didn't."

"Get out."

"Look, we're 2 down, 2 to go. We've got this."

"_I've_ got this," Charlotte called back over her shoulder. "You've done jack as far as I'm concerned."

"Hey now," Gabriel pointed a finger at her, "I've got you this far."

Charlotte groaned and decided to just ignore him. She wrung her hands on the steering wheel and felt the ring dig into the palm of her hand. With a groan she reached forward, opened the glove compartment and chucked Pestilence's ring in there before she slammed it shut and pressed her foot harder on the pedal.

"The cold shoulder? Really sweetheart?"

Charlotte growled and glared at him in the mirror before she frowned at the road. Pestilence had been her near death. If she had been purely human she was sure that she would have died. But then War hadn't had any affect on her. She frowned and slammed her feet on the brakes. Why did one affect her but not the other?

"Whoa! A little warning!"

"Shut up," she whispered, "I'm thinking."

War twisted people's minds to believe that they were seeing demons everywhere, turning one person against another. Pestilence infected people with diseases without even touching them, by just being near him. Pestilence had affected her and yet War hadn't. Why? What was different?

She could feel Gabriel fold his arms on the back of her seat and lean over to tilt his head, his eyes focused on her, "What'cha thinking?"

"War didn't affect me but Pestilence did. Why?"

There was silence for several seconds before Gabriel shrugged. She could feel it in the dip of the head rest and the way the air moved across her cheeks. "I'm not you. Has something changed?"

She shook her head, lips parted in a small 'o' shape. "I don't, I don't think so."

"Well," his hand landed on her shoulder, "keep thinking kiddo. I got Famine to track down for you."

There was another rustle of air and she didn't have to look to know that he was gone. Slowly Charlotte eased her grip on the steering wheel and her hands lay helpless in her lap. Did that meant that Famine was going to be worse? What about Death? Didn't he decide who was alive and who died? Would she even get to meet Lucifer?

There was a small chill in the air and Charlotte frowned at the feeling of eyes in her back. Tentatively she glanced up at the rearview mirror again and stared at the reflection that grinned back. It sat in the back seat, right behind Charlotte and it winked at her. Charlotte turned to find an empty seat staring back at her and slowly looked forward again. "I'm going crazy," she whispered. She looked back at the mirror before she reached up and turned it away from her eyes. Black eyes had stared back at her from her own face and she swallowed hard, trying to ignore the fear that crept into her bones.

* * *

**A/N:**

**kalynalexis: **Thank you! It really made me smile to read your comment! I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

**Lexi: **How do you feel now? Charlotte never listens to anyone. I'm glad you enjoy the small things between Dean and Charlotte.

Charlotte doesn't have an opinion on children. There's never been any in her life, she's never had to deal with them so she has no opinion. In her opinion, they're annoying brats who get in the way, but she hasn't been exposed all that much to children and doesn't know what her overall opinion is.

She is good at cooking. She grew up at Bobby's and after eating the same meal for four days straight she started to learn to cook to provide some semblance of nutrition to their lives. She still cooks when she's at Bobby's and when she's on a hunt the kitchens the motels have don't exactly stock all of the pots and pans you would find in a kitchen.

There might be a possibility that Claire and Charlotte get along. I'm not going to say anything else on the matter.

Charlotte finds it hard to be open, after spending a lot of years growing up on the road then going to school with people who had no clue about what she knew. It was hard for her to open up when there were four people (Bobby, Dean, Sam and John) who knew about the same things that she did, and she only saw one daily who spent a lot of his time helping other hunters.

With the stuff that she's also done in her life, she feels as though she doesn't deserve to be comforted, that her suffering is a kind of karmatic punishment that she deserves.


	66. 2009 December part 2

**A/N: **Here's another chapter. I'm so sorry for the delay! Things are going wrong at the moment and I just need things to go right!

I want to shout out to **Lexi** for every single review she has left. I always read them when I'm out in public and I end up grinning like an idiot, wanting to laugh out loud. Thank you for the smiles and comments! They mean a lot!

**A/N/N: Please can everyone read this:** Updates will not be every week. One of my family is seriously ill, and it's not going to get any better. I'll update when I can and I will try to keep it often enough that this story doesn't die. But please, bare with me whilst things are far from under control for me. Thank you.

Enjoy this chapter.

* * *

2009 – December

Part 2

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Natalie tapped her finger on the laptop, her eyes unfocused on the news article in front of her. Her mind was elsewhere and she was too busy thinking about how long it would take to drive to Michigan and what the weather would be like. It was starting to pick up a heavy snow storm in some places and she hated to think that there was a chance she'd end up stranded in the middle of nowhere.

She clicked on the search bar and typed _Michigan weather. _After a few seconds it showed that a small snow storm was ready to hit the town and she let out a small sigh.

"Hey."

Natalie blinked and looked up to see a warm faced Sam smiling at her. She smiled back and couldn't help but to push the laptop screen away from Sam's direction. "Hey," she flicked her eyes to the room, to Bobby behind the desk, reading the newspaper with a bottle of Jim, to Dean kicked back on the couch, legs in Charlotte's lap with his head tipped back whilst she read a book on top of his legs, before Natalie glanced back at Sam, "what's up?"

He shrugged and reached out to grab one of her hands. She let him tilt her hand, palm up, to draw small circles across her palm with his thumb. "Everybody's taking a small breather, just curious to what you were so focused on."

Natalie ducked her eyes and shrugged, lifting her free hand to shut the laptop. "Nothing," she mumbled, not missing the glance Charlotte threw them before she immediately became disinterested. "Just catching up with a few old friends."

Sam's brows shot up and he couldn't help but to steal a look at the laptop. "Friends like school friends or-"

She grinned and closed her hand around his with another small shrug, "Just friends." She tugged gently at his fingers with a small glance over his shoulder before she stood up, pulling Sam behind her. She chewed on her bottom lip with a small frown, walking until she heard the door close behind them and felt the chilly wind tickle the ends of her hair.

"Natalie?" Sam asked after a moment, hesitation in every syllable.

She couldn't help the soft smile and finally turned to face him, letting him see exactly how she'd been feeling since Sam had informed her about the series of books that had been written about their lives, about Chuck and the Archangel that was keeping him safe, about his words to Charlotte. Sam had promised to tell her everything and now, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about what Chuck was talking about, about why there were books about the Winchester's lives and about the Horsemen and Lucifer.

"I'm scared," she whispered, barely meeting his chest with her eyes.

"Why? What's- Has something happened?"

Natalie could feel Sam crowding in around her and slowly shook her head. She shrugged a shoulder and finally dragged her eyes up to look up at Sam with wide eyes, "I feel, I feel like something's about to go wrong, like something's about to happen. Things have been a little too quiet right? And I mean, you've said it yourself that we haven't heard about the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Surely we'd have heard something."

Sam's body gave her the slightest hint that he was just as worried in the way his muscles tightened minutely before he swallowed and blinked a few times. Eventually he sighed, his body loosening up with the breath and she watched him step closer with a small breath, "I'm worried too. I feel like everybody's waiting for- for something."

"So why aren't we doing anything? Why are we here-" she waved at Bobby's house, "reading and relaxing whilst-"

"Hey," Sam hushed as he gently grabbed her shoulders and squeezed with a reassuring smile. "I know. But we've got no leads. We're still trying to find a way to kill Lucifer, still trying to find him, the Horsemen are staying quiet and demons are laying low." He pulled a face that mirrored her inner turmoil and finished his small speech with, "We just have to wait until something comes up."

"I hate waiting."

Sam let out a single laugh and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Natalie embraced it, her eyes closed and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "Me too," he whispered and he placed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Everything will be fine."

Natalie blinked her eyes open and wanted to desperately look up into Sam's face and seek the reassurance there as she asked, "You really believe that?"

But the slight tension that rippled through his muscles let her know that he didn't have any faith in the nod he gave her. "I do."

The sound of somebody clearing their throat made them jump apart and Natalie blinked away her fear to glare at the intrusion. A short man dressed in a black suit and coat stood there, his hands in his pockets and his eyes flicking between the two of them. "Shame you two would never give a show," he said, English accent coming through with each word.

"Who are you?" Natalie hissed out, feeling Sam take a subtle step forward and she couldn't help but to wish that she'd kept her gun on her.

The guy gave her a look before he waved a charming smirk her way. "How rude of me to not introduce myself. I'm Crowley."

"Wait," Sam said, "the demon Crowley?"

Crowley gave Sam a glare and almost growled his words, "_King_ of the crossroads, actually."

Natalie pursed her lips, remembering everything she'd been told or heard about Crowley and clenched her fist by her side. "We didn't summon you," she started, "so what do you want from us?"

He clicked his tongue before he tilted his head to one side and gave her a once over. "I like you," he said with a smile before he pulled his hand out of his pocket. Natalie couldn't help the instinctive step back and she watched Crowley's hand eagerly, her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, he pulled it out to reveal a gun, dangling on the end of his outstretched fingers. "Somebody dropped this a little while ago I believe."

"The Colt," she whispered.

"Yours," Crowley went on, "for a small, charge."

"No deal," Sam said. "We like our souls in our body's."

Crowley sighed and gave Sam a tired look. "Moose, I don't even want _your _soul. Just kill Lucifer."

Natalie froze, out of surprise and frowned. She could feel the confusion radiating from Sam and he was the one who broke their stupor. "You want _us _to kill the devil?"

Crowley shrugged. "What can I say, I don't agree with the way he does things."

Natalie's frown deepened and she shook her head. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want him dead? I thought all demons worshipped him?"

Crowley had the decency to look offended as he said, "And I like to stay alive. Lucifer has no care for demons. We're just numbers to him, nothing but meat suits who he can do with as he pleases, and I for one, like where I am just fine."

Sam cleared his throat, "And how do we know this isn't a trick?"

Crowley rolled his eyes with a huge sigh. "Hunters," he cursed, "there's no trust with you guys."

"You're a demon."

Crowley stopped short and that and made a look. "Point taken, but what I said is true. Lucifer doesn't care for us little demons. We're bugs on a windshield for him, just pawns to be used and abused. And nobody gets to abuse me. I hate him, and everything he stands for." He dropped the Colt to the floor and stuffed his hand back into his pocket. "Make the bullet count, or we'll all be dead."

Natalie blinked and he was gone. She blinked again and eyed the gun on the ground. Sam was the one who edged forward and picked it up, opening the chamber with a sigh. "One bullet."

"You think it'll work?"

He turned to her and smiled tightly. "The Colt kills anything right?"

Hope started inside of Natalie's chest and she smiled, trying to cling to that little shred of hope. "Right, so now we've found a way to kill Lucifer, how do we find him?"

Sam shook his head and let the gun drop to his side. "I don't know. Come on," he started back towards Bobby's house and she followed, worry still squirming away inside of her. It felt too easy, like somebody was giving them a hail Mary that they hadn't earned. It felt wrong and she wanted to believe her gut was wrong.

When they made it back inside there was a high strung silence in the air and Natalie grabbed a kitchen knife as she crept behind Sam towards the living room. All three occupants were on their feet, Bobby with a shotgun whilst Dean and Charlotte looked ready to brawl.

"Ah, took you long enough"

Natalie sighed, dropping the knife to her side and glanced around the room before she looked over at Crowley, "What do you want now?"

"Now?" Dean asked.

"Now," Crowley said, "I tell you a little rumour I heard about Carthage, Missouri."

Sam frowned and waved the Colt in Crowley's general direction, "What about Missouri?"

Crowley gave him a look before he looked to Natalie, "Honestly, you could've done better for anybody with brains."

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth before a shot sounded. All eyes turned to look at Crowley then Bobby. "What?" he asked.

"Demon," Crowley hissed.

"What the fuck is in Missouri?" Charlotte shouted.

"Lucifer."

Silence descended on the room again and Dean spoke up, his eyes fixed on the Colt in Sam's hand. "With that?"

"One bullet, for Lucifer, not me. So don't even think about double crossing me."

"And why would you want him dead?" Dean went on. "Don't you guys cheer for him?"

Crowley scoffed and Charlotte cleared her throat, answering for him. "Lucifer doesn't care about them."

"Excuse me?" Dean said.

Charlotte shrugged a shoulder and went on, "Best I heard, Lucifer thinks of demons like rats. There's always more."

"Gold star for you."

"Bite me."

"Well," Crowley said, "now that that's out of the way. I hope I never see you again."

He disappeared and Natalie sighed, laying the knife on the side table before Bobby's phone rang. |He grouched as he dropped his gun onto the table and answered it with a gruff, "Yeah?...Ellen- what did ya...Carthage...Right-"

"Crap," Natalie whispered.

"What's she saying?" Dean interrupted.

Bobby glared at him as he said, "We'll meet you there."

He hung up and Dean gave him a look, "Well?"

"Ghost town. Suddenly nobody's around. Entire townsfolk up and disappeared without a clue. No signal either. They had to drive five miles out of town just to get 1 bar."

"They?" Sam asked.

Bobby sighed, "Ellen and Jo."

Dean spoke next, "So we're thinking Crowley was right."

"Fucking, great," Charlotte mumbled.

"Looks like we're heading to Missouri," Bobby finalised, "whoever's coming pack your bags, for It with a capital I."

Natalie swallowed, her stomach dropping. This was what she had been waiting for and she prayed that they made it out alive, that this half thought plan worked and that it would be okay. That everything would work out.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Lexi: **Haha, like two peas in a pod? And I will not tell you why she was affected by Pestilence and not War. It's a secret *wink *

Of course things are going to get bad. Would you have it any other way? And thanks! I'm having way too much fun with Gabe and Charlotte.

I already know exactly how 99% of that episode is going to go. You're in for a ride.

I do plan on doing the entire series base on the actual TV series so Amara will come into it and I don't want to say any more on this. There's still a few small details I want to work out before I think all the way that far. But it is going to come into play.

Most physical trait of Charlotte would probably be her height. It's one thing I often forget but she is supposed to be the same height as Dean, which is pretty tall for a woman. It's rare for her to be looking up at somebody when she's on her feet.


	67. 2009 December part 3

**A/N:** I am sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. Unfortunately I can't guarantee when the next one will come out. I lost my Grandad over the weekend and my mind is just all over the place. I'm sorry, but I will do my best.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

2009 – December

Part 3

_Missouri – Carthage_

Charlotte screwed her eyes shut as she propped her foot against the nearest stand, trying to keep the door closed as the Hellhounds barked and scratched at the wood. "Come on," she whispered. There were three more violent shoves before the barks ebbed into low growls and she snapped her eyes open.

She turned her head to try to hear what they were doing and felt her chest hurt as she held her breath, afraid that her breathing would call them back down on her. She counted the seconds in her head and after five she rolled onto her knees and pushed herself up into a crouched position, hands out, palms up, waiting for the hounds to start again.

Another bark made her jump and she stood up and scurried to the nearest shelf that had salt on it. She ran back to the door and poured it in front of the door, breath coming out in short bursts and she flicked her eyes up for a second and jumped, the box falling from her hands.

Meg stared back at her, eyes narrowed and studying her face. "Neat trick," she mocked before she turned away.

* * *

Charlotte felt goosebumps begin to break out on her arms as she stepped out of the car. Something was definitely wrong and she tightened her hold on her gun. Bobby had hung back to do some research into exactly what Carthage had to do with anything. Charlotte had tried to insist that Jo held back and sat this one out but she refused to listen and Ellen followed them. Natalie on the other hand had refused to listen to Charlotte's begging to stay back and stay safe, brushing her off with a small, "Someone has to watch your ass."

She took a small step and shivered before she took another step and felt the shiver quickly disappear. "You feel that?" she whispered.

Natalie was the only one close enough to hear her with a hissed, "Feel what?"

Charlotte bit her lip and shook her head. "Nothing."

"Charlotte?"

"Nothing," she urged. She took another step and felt another shiver and she closed her eyes with a frustrated sigh. Something was weirder than weird.

"Still no signal," Sam supplied and Charlotte glanced at him with a small frown before she looked away again.

"Great," Dean cursed, "alright, everybody split up. See if there's anybody still alive and kicking."

Charlotte flicked her eyes to Dean before she looked away and couldn't help but to glance at the upstairs windows that stared down into the street. There was nothing special about that particular window, but it felt as though she was being watched and she narrowed her eyes at it before she turned away.

"The town's not empty," Cas supplied.

She turned to watch the Angel take a few steps into the street, seemingly stepping around things and she raised a brow. "You want to elaborate?"

"Reapers," he said and he turned to glance at the same window Charlotte had been staring at. She followed his gaze and a moment later he was gone.

"Reapers?" Jo added to the sudden silence. "Nice of him to tell us why."

Something clicked in Charlotte's mind and she realised why everything felt weird. "As in more than one," she whispered, her voice slowly growing in volume. "They only gather in numbers, large enough to turn a town into the centre of freaksville, when something big's going to go down. Pompeii, San Francisco earthquake. They knew it was coming, just like something else is coming."

Jo clicked her tongue before she made a small noise. "Well Miss doom and gloom, aren't you cheery today."

Charlotte turned to look at Jo with a tight smile and said, "You should see me on a bad day."

Jo chuckled and shook her head. "Been there, done that, no thanks."

"You love me really."

Jo snorted, "In your dreams, Dixon."

"It's like watching two children bicker," Natalie added after a moment of silence.

Ellen laughed and shook her head, "Trust me, you missed out on the whole children part."

"Bite me!" Charlotte yelled out before she started to take a few steps towards the nearest building.

"Alright, alright," Dean called out, "let's do our job."

"Yes Ma'am," Natalie added.

Dean stopped short and glared at Natalie smirked at him before she followed behind Charlotte. "I don't care that you're banging my brother, I will hurt you!"

Charlotte grinned to herself as she kicked the door to the diner open with the toe of her shoe. "Are you done winding him up?" Natalie stuck her tongue out as she followed behind Charlotte into the diner. Charlotte shook her head as she took a few careful steps into the shop before she let her gun fall to her side. "Nothing."

"Do you really think something big is about to happen?"

Charlotte turned to look at Natalie and she paused as she noted the fear that ebbed in the corner of her gaze. Natalie was worried and Charlotte could see it in the tenseness of her shoulders and the way she clutched her gun as though it was a lifeline. "Yeah," she breathed out in a mumble, "I do." She brushed past Natalie and back outside to take a breath. "And if it's not today, it's tomorrow, or the next day, or the next."

She heard quiet footsteps behind her and Charlotte gritted her teeth as she peered over her shoulder at the other woman as she started towards the nearest building. "Do you think we can stop it?"

Charlotte's heart jumped and she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before she nodded her head. "Don't you?"

After a few seconds of hearing nothing behind her Charlotte stopped and turned to see Natalie staring at her, arms down and her shotgun held by her waist. "No, I don't," she whispered.

"Nat," Charlotte sighed.

"No. You said it yourself, Reapers gather at times of chaos, of huge global disasters. Lucifer's walking this Earth wanting to use Sam as some kind of puppet, and Michael wants to use Dean." Natalie's tone turned to pleading as she took slow steps towards Charlotte, "This is one town that's been wiped off the map in a day. How many more?"

"Nat-"

"This is how it starts isn't it?"

Charlotte gritted her teeth and kept her gaze locked on Nat's terrified look. "We'll fix this."

"How? We'll kill the Devil?"

She frowned slightly and couldn't stop herself from looking away from Natalie. "We do what we can alright? We do what we always do and that's our best." She closed her eyes for a moment before she sighed and gave Natalie her best sincere expression that she could muster, "It's always worked for-"

"It hasn't."

Charlotte scoffed and turned away, stomping her way to the next building. She quickly glanced at the others, poking their heads into one building before moving onto the next. "Can we please get through today?"

"I just-" Charlotte turned to look at Natalie with raised brows. Natalie's bottom lip quivered as she eyed the empty town around them before she took enough steps so that she could whisper, "I don't want to watch any of you die."

"You won't."

"You can't promise that."

"You _won't_, watch _anybody _die. You hear me?"

Natalie held her gaze for several seconds before she looked away with a sigh, "How can you promise that?"

Charlotte took a deep breath and opened her mouth, but no words came out. She had nothing to say to that, nothing. But she felt as though she needed to reassure Natalie's worries. Charlotte woke up each day with the same worry and fear, but she promised herself that she wouldn't let anybody die and right now, she was wondering how well she'd convinced herself of that.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Charlotte turned to the source of the voice with a frown and she caught movement out of the corner of her eye to signal that everybody else had heard Meg taunt them.

"Meg," Sam hissed.

"You guys _really_ shouldn't have come here," Meg carried on and Charlotte tightened her hold on her gun.

"Hell," Dean started and Charlotte flicked her eyes to him to see him raise the Colt in Meg's direction, "I could say the same for you."

"Didn't come here alone, Deano."

The puddle next to Meg splashed and Charlotte's eyes were drawn to it with a deep frown before there was a growl. Her eyes widened as she heard another growl and she desperately tried to search the ground for any sign of where they were. There was a bark and she readied herself to run.

"Hellhounds," Dean said.

"Yeah, Dean," Meg mocked, "your favourite." Charlotte's lip curled at the comment and she held her finger over the trigger. She knew full well the bullets wouldn't kill Meg, but they packed one hell of a punch. "Come on, my Father wants to see you."

Sam scoffed and Charlotte reached out a hand to grab Natalie's shoulder before there was a gunshot. The bullets drew blood from the Hellhound that had been standing in the puddle and Natalie said a simple, "We'll pass."

"Have it your way," Meg snarled and she tilted her head to one side.

"Run!" Charlotte called out.

There was the sound of scuffling feet and Charlotte had taken three steps before she heard something hit the floor. She turned and her eyes jumped to see Dean and Natalie both on the floor, both with scratches to their legs. Charlotte raised her gun and fired at the back of Natalie's legs as a large scratch appeared down her side and she walked forward, firing shot after shot. She wasn't the only one firing and she caught Sam in her peripheral vision, aiming at the space around Dean. Past him Jo was helping and Charlotte crouched down to grab Natalie's arm and throw it over her shoulder before they started to run again.

"I've got you!" Sam shouted, and Charlotte felt his hand on her back as she made her way to the nearest convenience store, Natalie panting and groaning in her ear. "Dean!"

"Just go!" Dean shouted back.

"Mom!"

Charlotte paused to look over at the other group and she watched Ellen drop to one knee, her hand on her shoulder and Jo quickly bending down to help her up and away to the other side of the street. Dean laid down cover fire for them, aiming at the ground and Charlotte hurried herself and Natalie towards the convenience store. She tightened her hold on Natalie's arm and shifted her weight enough to kick the door open. It slammed against the shelves and she hurried inside, easing Natalie to the floor before she rushed back to slam the door behind Sam.

The door bounced against it's hinges as the Hellhounds scratched and barked at it, growling and pawing at the wooden surface. "I got it!" she shouted to Sam, willing the Angel strength inside of her to help keep the door closed. "Check on Nat! She took a bad scratch!"

Sam stared down at her with wide eyes and Charlotte glared up at him, holding onto one shelf with her hand and propping her foot against another shelf to work herself as a door stop. "The Hell-"

"I got it!"

Sam gave the door one last look as it bounced against the hinges again before he jumped to Natalie's side and tilted her head up. There was already a deep red stain appearing across her shirt and she laid her head a little too heavily on Sam's hand for Charlotte's liking. She closed her eyes and shoved her back harder against the wood, begging for the others to be alright.

The door gave another rattle and she banged her against it, gritting her teeth as she felt the wood start to give in right at the base of her back. The wood wouldn't hold much longer and she snapped her eyes open, trying to figure out how she could block the door any better.

There was another loud rattle and another series of growls and scratches and the whisper of dogs breath brushed the back of her neck. She screwed her eyes shut and tipped her head forward, trying to put all of her strength into keeping the door closed. After a few more thumps and scratches she opened her eyes and a glint of gold caught her attention.

War's ring rested against her chest and Charlotte stared at it, transfixed by the simple gold band. She licked her lips and looked up at Sam to see him, grabbing whatever he could from the shelves to press against Natalie's back, his eyes flicking between Charlotte and Natalie and Charlotte looked back down at the ring, a sense of calm washing over her.

She grabbed the ring in one clenched hand and pulled the string around her neck, snapping it off. Keeping her back pressed against the wood she shoved the edge of the ring into her mouth and used her free hand to pull the string free before she quickly worked on slipping the ring onto her middle finger.

She had no idea what to expect and when the Hellhounds kept bashing and clawing at the door, the wood starting to splinter across her back, Charlotte started to pray.

Charlotte screwed her eyes shut as she propped her foot against the nearest stand, trying to keep the door closed as the Hellhounds barked and scratched at the wood. "Come on," she whispered. There were three more violent shoves before the barks ebbed into low growls and she snapped her eyes open.

She turned her head to try to hear what they were doing and felt her chest hurt as she held her breath, afraid that her breathing would call them back down on her. She counted the seconds in her head and after five she rolled onto her knees and pushed herself up into a crouched position, hands out, palms up, waiting for the hounds to start again.

Another bark made her jump and she stood up and scurried to the nearest shelf that had salt on it. She ran back to the door and poured it in front of the door, breath coming out in short bursts and she flicked her eyes up for a second and jumped, the box falling from her hands.

Meg stared back at her, eyes narrowed and studying her face. "Neat trick," she mocked before she turned away. After a few seconds Charlotte took a breath and craned her neck to try to see what was going on.

"What happened?" Sam asked, making Charlotte jumped.

She took quick breaths and held her hand out in front of her, away from Sam and bit her lip. "Dunno," she mumbled before she cleared her throat and turned, dropping her hand to her side. She could worry about that later. "Dunno," she repeated and she crouched down on Natalie's other side, her eyes taking in her friends state. "How is she?"

"We need to get her to a hospital. She'll live, but the wounds pretty deep."

"Fuck," Charlotte whispered.

Sam glanced from her to the door and back before he leaned over Natalie and whispered, "Where'd they go?"

Charlotte fixed her gaze on Sam's and tried to ignore the strange calm that washed away all of the fear her body and mind had built up that day. "I don't know, maybe they got bored."

"They're Hellhounds, they don't get bored."

"I don't know," Charlotte hissed with a glare and she took a deep breath before she sighed and stood up. "I'm going to look for a way out. Keep her alive."

"That's the plan," Sam muttered back and Charlotte ground her teeth at the tone his words held.

"Something to say Sammy?"

Sam stood up and stepped over to Charlotte to stare down at her with a dark look. "One minute they're seconds away from breaking that door down and tearing us apart. The next they disappear and Meg congratulates you on your trick." Charlotte flicked her eyes away and clicked her tongue. "Yeah," Sam went on, an air of smugness in his words, "I heard her. So what did you do?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

"No."

Charlotte turned back to look up at Sam with a glare. "Worry about surviving now. We can fight it out later." She turned and didn't give him chance to reply before she started to look at the other windows and into the back office for some way out of this mess.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi: **Some deep questions, let me try to answer them. The thing that Charlotte loves/likes most about Dean? Physically? Emotionally? All of the above? Well, for one, she thinks he's hella hot. Two, his sense of humour always makes her laugh and he knows exactly how to make her smile when she's in an awful mood. He's great in bed. He understands her and she understands him. Despite the fact that sometimes she'd happily kill him for his idiocy, she wouldn't have him any other way.

What's the thing that Dean likes/loves the most about Charlotte? She cares, more than she shows it, she cares. She'll also tell him how it is. The sex. She understands him and knows when to say something, when not to say something and when to kick his ass until he does. She compliments him the same way he compliments her.

Yeah, I've been meaning to get back to that one but things are crazy. Erm, she'll definitely remember them a lot more in the future, depending on who's around. She'd probably try to remember Dean's and even try to celebrate it now and again for him as a little joy in their lives.

I think Charlotte is scared to be a mother, and she would be terrified of messing up or doing something wrong. At least, for the first few months before she felt somewhat comfortable in her new role. I do think Charlotte would be a good mother, but she's scared to and is terrified of the idea.


	68. 2009 December part 4

**A/N: **Hey guys, so here's the next installment of _Abandon All Hope_. I really wanted to wrap this episode up. It didn't feel right leaving this chapter in the middle, right before the big finale of this episode. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

2009 – December

Part 4

_Missouri – Carthage_

Charlotte stared out of a window in the back office, fingers tapping against the wooden windowsill. There was no way of telling where Dean, Jo and Ellen had gone, no way of telling if any of them were hurt or not. She sighed and scrubbed her hands over her face. The ring brushed against her cheek and she pulled her hand away to stare at it with a small frown. She couldn't help but to rub her thumb and finger on either side of the band, turning the ring slightly around her finger before she let go and shook her head.

Charlotte cleared her throat and made her way further into the back, stopping at the sight of a back door. A smile started to creep onto her face and she wrenched it open and stepped outside, eyeing the back alley it led into. As quietly as she could she pushed the door to behind her and crept to the corner. There were barks and growls in the distance and Charlotte tried to figure out where it was coming from before she spotted her car a few yards away from the other side of the building. There was no sign of Meg and she cast another look up and down the street before she stepped back.

She hurried back into the convenience store and shut the door behind her, rushing into the main room. Natalie's forehead was lined with beads of sweat and she was gritting her teeth, one arm hung limply in her lap and Charlotte hated to think about how badly she'd gotten hurt. "Hey," she whispered, crouching down next to Natalie.

Sam looked up with a tight smile, their conversation from before leaving a sting in his gaze and Charlotte ignored him in favour of giving Natalie a warm smile. "How you doing, Nat?"

"Who's crappy idea was this party?" she hissed out before she coughed and groaned, screwing her eyes shut with a heavy grunt. She let her head tip back against the counter she was propped against and she swung her head in Charlotte's direction. "Told you."

"You're not dead."

Natalie let out a snort and hissed with another wince. "Not yet."

"Stop it," Charlotte whispered.

Natalie shook her head with a small whimper and Charlotte could see the loss in her brown eyes. She'd already given up. "I can't move my arm," Natalie started in a hoarse voice, "I'm bleeding out. There's Hellhounds-"

"I'm not letting you die!" Charlotte paused and felt two sets of wide eyes on her before she ground her teeth together to stop the tears from starting. As much as Natalie had a point, Charlotte refused to listen to her. She wasn't going to let her die. Not here. Not today. Not like this. "You're not going to die." She sighed and looked up at Sam a raised brow. "Meg and her hounds are gone. It's a straight run to the car." Charlotte dug around in her pocket for her car keys and held them out to Sam. "We'll get to the car and you'll take her to a hospital."

Sam stared at her for a moment, glanced down at her keys and slowly looked back up at her. "What about the others?"

Charlotte shrugged and licked her lips. "I'll figure something out. But we need to get her out of here," she nodded to Natalie, "and to a Doctor sooner rather than later."

There was a small cough before Natalie said, "You know," her words started to slur as she went on, "I'm hurt. Not deaf."

Sam gave her a small smile and laid a hand on her knee, squeezing it gently. "We're getting you out of here."

Natalie looked between them before she let out a breath and bit her lip. "Fine," she said, "fine. But if I die on the way."

"Oh shut up already," Charlotte mumbled before she climbed to her feet. "Come here you idiot." She bent down and pulled Natalie's good arm over her shoulder. Charlotte struggled for a moment" before Sam shook his head and pulled her arm from Charlotte's shoulder.

He bent down and picked Natalie up, bridal style, earning a hiss from her. "Sorry," he whispered and Charlotte smiled before she headed towards the front door. She held her key out, ready to open her car, and looked back at Sam. He nodded his head and Charlotte nodded. She wrenched the door open, stepped out and drew her gun, keeping it out in front of her. Sam rushed past her and she kept up by his side, keeping her back to them as she kept an eye out for anyone or thing coming at them. "Door!"

"Got it," she called out and she turned, grabbed the handle and wrenched the passenger side open. Sam eased Natalie, hissing and groaning, into it before stood up and grabbed the key from Charlotte's outstretched hand. "Don't scratch it," she warned before she bent down as Sam hurried to the driver's side. Charlotte kissed Natalie's temple and whispered, "Told you so."

"Still time," Natalie whispered back.

Charlotte smiled tightly and nodded her head. "See you at the hospital." She stood up and closed the door just in time for the wheels to start spinning and for Sam to speed away. Charlotte sighed and ran a hand through her hair before she turned, eyeing up each building. The Hellhounds were still growling and yapping and she started running towards the sounds. As the sounds started to get loud enough to make Charlotte's heart beat something came at her from her right and she turned just in time for Dean to grab her hand holding the gun, knock it away from him and shove her back the way she had come. "Wha-"

"Just run," he rushed and Charlotte turned, glancing beside him to see Jo running alongside him.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder to see that there was nobody else and she stopped a moment later. "Where's Ellen?"

Jo and Dean had stopped and Jo refused to look at her. Dean opened his mouth, trying to speak, but nothing was coming out. Charlotte's stomach filled with dread and she turned back towards where the sounds of Hellhounds were coming from. "She didn't make it," Jo whispered.

"No," Charlotte mumbled, "no. No, no, no."

"Char," Dean started and Charlotte brushed his hand off to start walking back the way that they'd come from. A moment later one of the buildings went up, the force of the blast shoving Charlotte flat on her back. Heat rushed over her and she scurried to push herself up, eyes wide to see a burning wreck of what once looked to be a DIY store. "Come on," Dean whispered and Charlotte could feel his hands underneath her arm, pulling her up to her feet.

"But-" Charlotte started, shock letting Dean guide her away from the building.

Jo was stood stock still, staring the carnage and Dean had to force her to turn around with his hands on her shoulders. "Come on, Jo. Let's stay alive."

They half ran and jogged until they made back to Dean's car before Jo stopped and planted her hands on the trunk of Dean's car. Charlotte stared at her, unable to bring any words to mind. What could she say? She reached out for Dean's hand, linking their fingers together and squeezed hard. Jo started to sob and Charlotte closed her eyes. After a moment Dean lifted her hand up and she looked over at him to see him frowning at the ring on her hand. She tugged her hand away and took a shaky breath, "I'll explain later," she mumbled.

"Right," Dean whispered and he walked over to Jo, placing his hands on her shoulders. The younger girl broke, broken sobs making her shoulders shake and Charlotte felt her own tears sting the back of her eyes. "Come here," he whispered and he pulled Jo into his arms. She clung to him, letting all of the tears go and Charlotte watched, wanting to do exactly the same thing. Ellen wasn't her mother, wasn't her flesh and blood but she'd acted like it and was who she had turned to when she needed some lady advice. She was the only woman Charlotte had had in her life who she didn't have to lie to about her life. "I'm sorry," Dean whispered and Charlotte looked away, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

She was wrong. Somebody had died. She turned and kicked the toe of her boot against the floor with a scowl. She'd promised Natalie that nobody would die. She'd promised herself that everybody would make it out okay. This was not okay.

"Here," Dean mumbled and Charlotte turned back to watch Dean dig his keys out of his pocket and press them into Jo's hands. "Go, leave town. Come back after midnight and pick me up."

Jo blinked down at the key before she looked up at Dean and tried to press his keys back into his hand, "I'm coming with you."

Dean started to shake his head, "Jo-"

"No! Dean, I'm coming with you!"

"Where?" Charlotte muttered, gaining the attention of two pairs of eyes.

Jo sighed, wiping her face with her hands before she took a deep breath. "William Jasper's farm."

She raised a brow and looked over at Dean, "Who?"

He sighed and held his hands, "I managed to get through to Bobby. He said that the last time something this big went down in this particular town it went down on this guy's farm. Our best bet for Lucifer is there."

"And I'm coming with you," Jo interrupted.

"No, you're not," Dean insisted.

Charlotte closed her eyes and sighed, interrupting whatever Jo wanted to say next. "Look, Jo, Dean can walk in there and out. Lucifer wants to battle Michael, who's vessel happens to be Dean. You and me? We're nothing to him." She slowly glanced over at Dean and watched him nod in agreement and thanks that she was helping him out.

"We have the Colt," Jo argued.

"And he might just kill us first. Look, take a drive. Get out of town, clear your head and swing back to pick us up."

She could feel Dean frowning at her and she ignored him in favour of Jo's equally puzzled look. "I thought you said-"

"Yeah, and I happen to be good friends with his brother. Figured I could use that to my advantage."

Dean held a hand up and shook his head, "No. You're going with Jo."

Charlotte snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, only way you're getting me to leave you alone with the devil is dead."

"Then I'm staying."

* * *

Dean took deep breaths. He didn't like this plan, but he didn't have any other ideas. He licked his lips and quietly pressed his way through the bushes, shotgun clutched tightly in his hands. He took a shaky step out into the open, eyes flicking between the group of towns people that were standing around the hole that Lucifer was digging. "Hey!" he shouted.

Lucifer stopped shoveling and slowly turned, digging the shovel head into the ground with a curious expression. "Dean Winchester." He smiled and wagged a finger at him, "You know, I really wanted to see your brother."

"See this," Charlotte hissed and Dean flicked his eyes to Charlotte who'd crept up next to him with the Colt. She leveled it between his eyes and shot, point blank, forcing Lucifer to collapse back. Dean eyed his body with a concerned frown before he shared a look with Charlotte. Her eyes slowly turned to look at the people that didn't move and there was a noise from the floor.

"Oww," Lucifer groaned.

"Holy fuck," Dean whispered.

"Shit," Charlotte quipped as Lucifer slowly stood up.

"Now," Lucifer said, tilting his head to one side as he looked at the Colt in Charlotte's hand, "where did you get that?"

Dean jumped as Lucifer threw a punch, knocking Charlotte back and off her feet, straight back into a tree before she fell to the ground in a heap. Lucifer slowly turned round to face Dean with a smirk before he grabbed the shovel and went back to digging. "You know, Dean, I wouldn't be so shocked. There's five things that the Colt can't kill. Lucky for me I'm one of them right."

Dean flicked his eyes from Lucifer over to Charlotte with a worried frown. He dropped his gun and hurried over to Charlotte's side. He dropped to his knees and looked her over with a mumble, "Come on, be fine, be fine."

"Don't worry, Dean," Lucifer mocked and Dean threw a glare over his shoulder. Lucifer watched him as he went on with a casual smile, "This will all be over innn," he tilted his head from one side to the next before he carried on, "about 6 months. There's this small town called Detroit. Maybe you've heard of it."

"I'm going to kill you," Dean hissed.

Lucifer nodded his head and shrugged a shoulder, "Michael thinks the same thing too."

Charlotte made a noise and Dean snapped his attention to her, ignoring the words that were coming out of Lucifer's mouth. "Hey," he whispered, stroking her hair out of her face. There was a large cut across her forehead and he tried to offer her a warm smile. "You good."

"Lucy?"

Dean raised his brow and helped her to sit up as they both looked over in time to watch lights flash inside of each body before they disappeared and the bodies dropped. "Crap," Dean whispered.

"He's sacrificing them," Charlotte mumbled.

Lucifer turned to look at them with a wide smirk and winked at her, "Somebody catches on quick."

He turned back to the pit he'd dug and Charlotte held onto Dean's arms as she tried to pull herself up. Dean helped her to stand, both transfixed by the bright light that appeared. Cas appeared in front of them, a finger to his lips and Dean blinked before he found himself stood next to his car. Jo blinked at them from within the Impala, her hands cuffed to the steering wheel. "You're alive," she said.

Dean slapped a hand onto Cas' shoulder before he pulled him for a big hug. "Nice timing Cas."

Charlotte gave him a tight smile before she let out a breath and doubled over in relief. Nobody else had died. She would take that for now.

* * *

Charlotte tapped her finger against the rim of her glass as the news went on. There had been nothing but disasters globally since Lucifer has freed Death. She stared at the kitchen table, the day coming back to her. Death was free. Lucifer had almost killed them. Ellen was dead.

Jo had clung to Bobby since they'd made it back to his and cried. He'd spilt tears of his own for the woman and they'd sat down on the couch, Jo resting her head on Bobby's shoulder as they mulled in the silence.

Sam and Dean stared at the small TV that blared one bad news article after the next and Natalie sat across from her. Charlotte looked up at her and managed a flicker of a tiny smile. "You good?" she whispered just loud enough for Natalie to hear.

"Castiel healed me up nicely."

Charlotte rubbed at the spot on her head where Lucifer has cracked her head against the tree and nodded her head. "Tell me about it."

"Hey." Charlotte looked up to see Natalie trying her best to give her a warm smile. It came across as tight and uncertain, betraying the words that came out of her mouth. "We did our best."

Charlotte nodded and ducked her head, pulling her glass closer to herself._ Our best wasn't good enough. _


	69. 2009 December part 5

**A/N:** Guys. I know how this story is going to end. I know what's going to happen in the next one. I cannot wait because I'm just so excited! Oh I'm excited for you guys!

Drop me a note to let me know how you're finding this story! I'm also interested to see how you guys will think this story will end? Feel free to let me know how you want this to end, but I cannot guarantee you any good news. (Hint: There is no good news)

Enjoy!

* * *

2009 – December

Part 5

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Sam stuffed his hands into his pockets to try to protect them from the cold. There was talk of snow and the last thing he wanted was to catch a cold. He let out a puff of warm air, watching it curl in front of him before it disappeared and he shivered, glancing at Charlotte. She was sat, feet propped on the bumper of her car, knees drawn up to her chest and her hands stuffed into her own pockets. "You going to keep hiding?"

She snorted with a small grin and glanced at him before she knocked her knees together. "Shut up," she mumbled before she pressed her chin on top of her knee. She let out a sigh and Sam raised his brows as he waited for her. "What do you want me to say?"

"How about what happened?" She shrugged and Sam nudged her leg with his elbow. "What. Happened?"

Charlotte shrugged again and shoved her elbow gently against his side. "I don't know. I just, I put it on and they just- they just left."

Sam studied her for a moment, concerned by her words. Did that mean that Charlotte had control over War's ring? Or that anybody could? Or did the ring control her? He cleared his throat and flicked his eyes away before he mumbled, "So why'd you put it on?" After a few moments of silence Sam glanced over at her and raised his brows. "Charlotte?"

She shrugged, again, and shook her head. "I don't know. I just- I just did."

He watched her for a moment studying the way she stayed hunched over and he frowned. "That doesn't sound good. You know that right?"

She snorted and started to uncurl herself. She straightened her back and knocked her knees together again. "I know, but I can't- I can't explain it. One minute I was worried we were going to die and I'm begging for us all to make it out, the next, I think about putting the ring on." She shrugged and finally met his eyes. "I don't know what else to say except that it worked."

"Did you feel anything?"

"You mean like a tingling in my nethers?"

Sam frowned with a small chuckle and shoved his elbow against her knee. "Disgusting. No, you know- you know what I mean."

Charlotte sighed and leaned back with her hands on the hood of the car. "I don't know, kind of." Sam waited a moment before he urged her on. She shrugged and stare at her knees as she gently knocked them together. "I can't explain it, I just- it-" she took a breath and shook her head before she carried on. "It was, it felt calming."

Sam let that sink in before he echoed her. "Calming?" She slowly nodded her head and Sam tilted his head to one side as he cleared his throat. "And you're not _concerned _about that?"

"Of course I am! It freaked me out but hey, it got us out of being doggy chow!"

"We don't know if it has any side affects!"

She snapped her eyes to him with a small frown. "What? You think I'm going to want to listen to the voices in my head now? Telling me put the ring on? Then what? We just take a walk to Mordor and toss the ring inside?" Sam frowned at her in confusion before she shrugged, "What? I watched _Lord of the Rings_."

"You _watched_ it?"

"Yeah?"

Sam opened his mouth to say something before he pursed his lips and frowned. "That isn't what I'm saying. We just, it's War's ring. A Horseman of the Apocalypse."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Gee thanks Sammy, remind some more of how screwed I'm making myself here."

"That's not-"

"I know!" Sam stopped and stared at her, waiting for her to carry on. "I know okay? I shouldn't be pulling stupid stunts without knowing what'll happen. But have seen our lives? They were made on stupid stunts. And I was _desperate! _Natalie was dying, Hellhounds were beating down the door and we had nothing to stop them permanently."

Sam sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I get it."

Charlotte peered up at him sheepishly, finally meeting his gaze as she muttered, "You do?"

He nodded and offered her a tight smile. "Yeah. I guess, I'd have done the same thing." Charlotte nodded, returning the small smile and slowly looked away again.

"How's Jo holding up?"

Sam sighed and shook his head. "Strong? I don't know, I think she's doing her best to look brave."

"You find out what happened?"

Sam nodded his head and said, "Ellen got caught by a Hound whilst she was trying to protect Jo. They holed themselves up in the hardware store and Ellen just, just knew that she-" He took a shaky breath and heard Charlotte breath deeply.

"Fuck," she whispered. "Fucking, fuck."

"Yeah," Sam whispered quietly. He looked her over and nudged her knee. "There was nothing we could've done. You know that right?"

"Sam-"

"Charlotte," he said, his voice louder, "nothing."

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "It fucking sucks."

He heard movement from the back door and glanced over to see Dean coming over to them, shoulders hunched and hands buried deep in the pockets of his coat. He turned back to Charlotte and placed a warm hand on her knee and squeezed gently. "Don't do it again. Just in case."

"I won't," Charlotte whispered.

Sam smiled and let go, turning just in time for Dean to bump his shoulder. "Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean quipped back with a smirk and Sam shook his head with a grin before he headed inside.

Dean sighed as he took Sam's place and leaned against Charlotte's car, his arm pressed snugly against her leg. "So," he started.

"So," she echoed, "are you going to give me a lecture too?"

He turned his head to give her a look before he pulled a face and shook his head. "Nah, Sammy does the lectures, I do the follow ups." He pulled his hands out of his pockets and pulled himself up next to her, hissing slightly at the cold metal underneath. "Fuck, that is cold."

Charlotte chuckled lowly and nudged her shoulder against his, "Yeah, well, it's December."

He tilted his head to look at her face and ground his teeth together at the dark look in her eyes. "You good?"

"Ellen?"

Dean nodded his head and looked away. "Yeah," he whispered and he remembered her begging Dean to drag Jo out of there, to keep her safe and alive. He'd promised Ellen that he'd keep Jo alive, that he'd look after her, he just, didn't know how he was going to keep that promise. Jo refused to do what everybody wanted and he took a deep breath to try to force himself to worry about that later. She was with Bobby, Sam and Natalie. She wasn't going anywhere without anybody else any time soon. He cleared his throat, nudged her shoulder and glanced at her with a soft smile. "So, why were you wearing it?"

Charlotte shrugged and looked away with a sigh of her own, "I thought you two developed telepathy by now. I was desperate. Hellhounds were beating the door down, Nat was bleeding out, and I was looking for a miracle to get us out."

"What happened?"

She shrugged again and Dean frowned as he watched her carefully. "They just, they just stopped."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah. I don't know why but Meg called it some kind of trick."

"Did you feel different?"

Charlotte nodded her head, inching away from Dean as she muttered, "I felt calmer."

"Well that's not creepy or anything."

"I know."

He nodded his head, trying to ignore the twisting inside of his stomach at that idea and stretched out to wrap an arm around her shoulder. He drew her in and kissed the top of her head with a deep breath before he said, "Promise me that it was the last time."

She pulled away to glare up at him and poked his side, "I've done it once. I don't need to do it again."

"So you're a try it once kind of girl?"

Charlotte raised a brow at his smirk and couldn't help the smirk that started to grow on her own lips. "Told you, I'm a try anything once kind of girl."

Dean hummed and pecked her lips. "I need to be putting that to the test more often."

"Maybe later," she teased with a wink before she curled against his side and grabbed his free hand. Dean watched her lace their fingers together and squeeze their hands together before she sighed. "Do you want it?"

"What?" When she didn't answer Dean tipped his head back and nodded his head before he shook it. "Nah. I trust you."

Charlotte slowly peeled herself away from his side to look up at him with a warm, soft smile. "Thanks," she whispered.

Dean grinned and cupped her face to kiss her lips gently. "I trust you," he whispered against her lips, "always have, always will."

"I trust you too," she whispered back before she captured his lips in a warm, very inviting kiss. "I was in a desperate situation," she muttered between kisses.

"I know," he muttered back, shifting closer until they were pressed, side by side. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss. "And maybe you should stop getting into those desperate situations."

Charlotte chuckled and cupped the back of his neck. "I could think of a situation or two that I wouldn't mind being in."

Dean stopped and pulled away, his eyes wide. He swallowed and flicked his eyes to the back door before he looked back at her. "Fuck," he breathed out.

"Indeed," she said, pressing her mouth to his in a closed mouth kiss before she pulled away and slid off the hood of her car. Dean watched her pull her keys out and he quickly moved to climb into the passenger side.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi: **Well, now Dean's definitely paying attention to the ring. Part of Dean had just associated it with the alternate time line he went to. Not to mention that there were other things from that time that took up a lot of his mind: Sam said Yes, Charlotte was a demon, Cas was... a hippy, Bobby and Natalie were dead.

Have Charlotte and Dean had sex in the Impala on more than one occasion? I want to answer that with a Hell Yeah cause they're basically a couple of horny teenagers around one another. I can only imagine that being a very awkward conversation when it comes to season 12. *wink *

**JDMichelle2626: **I'm so happy you decided to give this story a go! I'm also excited to hear that you're loving this story too! It is great to meet new readers. Thank you!


	70. 2010 January

**A/N:** Hey guys! I was in two minds about doing this episode, but I wanted to have some fun with it whilst giving Natalie's relationship with the boys a little more depth! Guess, the episode, and enjoy!

* * *

2010 – January

_Massachusetts – Housatonic_

Natalie grinned as she held up her own shot glass. It wasn't often she agreed to them, but on this one occasion, being able to relax and have a little down time with Sam, Dean and Charlotte, she would let it slide. They'd been to visit an old babysitter of Sam's and Dean's and whilst Natalie never drank in the middle of a hunt, she admitted that she need something to help her relax after all of the stuff they'd gone through recently.

She clinked her shot glass with the other three and winced before she knocked it back. She slammed the shot glass down with a few deep coughs, a hand on her chest and pulled a series of faces. "Jesus, what was that?"

"Rum," Dean supplied with a happy smack of his lips.

Sam let out a short cough of his own as he grabbed his beer again. "Not the worst I've had."

Charlotte grabbed her own beer from the top and extended a finger in Sam's direction. "Spiced rum is better."

"Amen to that," Dean cheered.

Natalie cringed and grabbed her wine, taking three large gulps to drain the rest of it. "Well, I'm putting that on the never again list."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and Natalie felt her knock their knees together. "The only thing not on your never again list is wine."

"And gin."

"Gin?" Dean grimaced. "Woman there is something deeply wrong with you."

Sam let out a short chuckle before Natalie shot him a glare. He shut his mouth, a smirk trying to worm its way through, and slapped Dean on the shoulder. "You had one bad experience with gin. One."

Dean leaned towards Charlotte and made a whipping motion with his hand as he made the sound with his mouth. "Whipped," he mumbled quietly. He cried out when Natalie kicked him underneath the table and Charlotte and Sam both laughed, Charlotte telling him that he deserved it before she finished off her drink. "Jesus fucking Christ," he mumbled, reaching down to rub at his leg.

Sam shook his head and stood up, placing his newly finished bottle on the table. "I'm going to the bar. Nat?"

"Yeah," she said, pushing her glass away, "I'll have another."

"I'll come with," Charlotte said.

"I'll have one," Dean chimed in.

"Are you paying?"

Dean winked and pointed a finger at her, "I'll make it up to you later on." Natalie rolled her eyes with a groan whilst Sam turned, waving a hand at Dean. Natalie laughed when Charlotte turned, one hand tucked underneath her arm so that she could flip Dean off on her way.

Dean laughed too and Natalie shook her head as she laid her arms on the table. "You two have one strange relationship."

Dean turned to her with a shrug and picked up his bottle before he realised it was empty. He set it back down and tapped his hand on the table. "Well, not all of us can be the restrained, boring couple that you and Sam are." She gave him a look before she shook her head, her eyes drifting to look past Dean toward the bar. Sam and Charlotte were laughing about something and Natalie sighed. "What?"

Natalie blinked and turned to look at Dean, feeling her cheeks blush at the idea that he'd been watching her whilst she'd been watching Sam. "What?"

Dean narrowed his eyes before he folded both arms on the table and leaned forward slightly. "Something wrong?"

"What?" Natalie repeated before she shook her head and stared down at the table. She played with the empty wine glass, her fingers following the base, the deafening gaze of Dean Winchester drowning out her thoughts. She looked up and raised her brows. He gave her a look, calling her bluff and she sighed, hunching over in her seat. "I just-" she shrugged and bit her lip, trying to find the words before she went on, "I feel-" she frowned and looked at Dean worriedly. "Should I be talking to you about this?"

Dean held a hand up, "As long as it's not sex, we're good."

"Hypocrite much?"

Dean shrugged and gestured a thumb over his shoulder, "I blame her."

Natalie shook her head with a small chuckle before she let out a small breath. "I like him, alright? I like your brother."

Dean stared at her for a moment before he shrugged a shoulder. "And? Tell me something I don't know."

Natalie sighed and fell back in her seat, a small frown creasing her brows. "It just, it feels like he's got one foot out the door. All of the time." She shrugged her shoulders and carried on, "You don't see him like I do. He looks like he's there, but it feels like he's half assing everything that's us."

Dean was frowning now and he sat up, glancing over his shoulder and Sam and Charlotte who seemed to be in some deep conversation. "Sam? The guy who always wants to get the girls number after a night together? Who remembers names? Sam who wants long... term..." his words trailed off and he clicked his tongue before he pointed a finger at Natalie. "Jessica."

Natalie frowned and eyed Dean. "Who's Jessica?"

Dean's mouth flailed for a few moments before he sighed and seemed to lean further forward. Natalie leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of her. "Back in college," Dean started, "Sam had this girlfriend. Jessica. He wanted a future with her. House, kids, wedding, whole nine yards. Anyway, the night after I went to him, asking for help to find our Dad, I take him back and we both kinda figured that that would be it."

"Oh no," Natalie whispered, already having a bad feeling where this story was going.

Dean nodded his head once and let out another sigh. "He, he climbed into bed, he, looked up and she- she was-" he clamped his mouth shut and pointed up.

Natalie parted her lips as she started to piece things together. "You mean, like- like you're Mom-?"

"Yeah," Dean breathed.

"Shit," she whispered.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Dean cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. "Look, Nat, he likes you, alright, like, a lot. He's, he's probably just, scared or something." She opened her mouth to reply when Sam and Charlotte came back with three beers and a glass of wine. "Nice," Dean said with a grin as he looked up at Charlotte.

"Uh huh," she hummed before she bumped him with her hip and sat down again. "So, who's taking the ghost and who's using down time."

Dean opened his mouth but Natalie said over him, "Me and Sam will take the down time! You two can handle the ghost."

Dean turned to look at her, a dejected look in his face. "I don't want the ghost."

Charlotte patted his arm and smiled widely at him. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"But we could've-"

"I know."

"But-"

"After."

Natalie watched for a few moments before she shook her head and rolled her eyes. The rest of their night passed by in a slow blur with drinks, more drinks, discussions about the ghost and a few insults to one another here and there. Natalie gave in first to the yawns and grabbed Sam's arm, dragging him away from the other two to shouts of, "Wrap it before you tap it!" and "Don't do something we wouldn't do!"

"I hate them," she muttered once they had some space to themselves.

Sam chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her against his side. "They mean well."

Natalie scoffed and raised a brow at him, "For our sex life."

Sam snorted and kissed her temple. "Which there is nothing wrong with."

"There better not be."

Sam laughed and poked her side with his free hand. "There isn't. Do I need to prove it?"

Natalie hummed as she looked up at him, a mischievous smirk on her face. "It wouldn't hurt."

* * *

Natalie slowly woke up, the motel curtains not dark enough to hide the power of the sun from entering their crappy room. She pulled the cover over her head and rolled to face the other side of the bed before her eyes snapped open with a frown. She was alone and she certainly hadn't been alone when she'd fallen asleep. "Sam?" she called out as she threw the cover off her head and sat up. There was a piece of paper on the night stand on her side of the room and she grabbed it and squinted as she read it, her brain still waking up.

_Gone for breakfast. Back soon._

She smiled warmly at that and decided to grab a shower. As she towel dried her hair she fired off a quick text to Charlotte, asking her how the hunt was going. She dropped her towel onto the bed and eyed the door curiously. She'd taken her time in the shower, enjoying the warm water pressure and the chance to shower for the sake of showering and she let out a breath before she made her way over to her laptop and booted it up. There were old TV series that she wanted to catch up on and she wanted to double check the local newspapers for anything else.

Two hours passed and she had given up waiting for Sam. Five phone calls and seven texts later and Sam still hadn't returned or shown his face and Natalie grabbed her coat. She'd just grabbed her keys when the door to the motel room opened and Sam stepped in, his eyes fixed on her in a wary stare. "Hi," he said timidly.

She raised her brows and her lips parted as she stared up at him. "That's all I get?"

Sam cleared his throat and edged his way into the room. "I'm sorry?"

"How does it take two hours to get breakfast?"

Something seemed to click in Sam's mind as he closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "I am, so, so, sorry. I got distracted, and I just lost track of time and- I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

She stared at him, at his begging, pleading eyes and she scoffed folding her arms over her chest. "You're lucky you're fucking cute," she mumbled.

Sam beamed at her and she felt her heart warm a little at the sight. "Scouts honour?"

She rolled her eyes and couldn't stop the small smile of her own. She slapped his arm and turned to drop her coat onto the bed. "You owe me one hell of an apology."

Sam cleared his throat as he closed the door behind him and took a few steps in her direction. "What if we had sex? Would that help?"

Natalie froze and stared at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"

He turned his hand over and said, "Sex. You know, you and me. In bed? Together?"

She narrowed her eyes at him before she folded her arms over her chest. "Since when did you turn into Dean?"

Sam's innocent expression came back and he said, "What?"

Natalie sighed and sat down on the bed, her head in her hands. She took a deep breath and slowly looked up at him, "Sam, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You say you're going to get breakfast and two hours later you come with nothing but an apology? Then you ask if I want sex? And now-" she sighed and closed her eyes. She put her head in her hand again and rubbed her face with a frustrated sigh.

The bed dipped and she pried her eyes open to see Sam scoot next to her. "Is this the part where you say we need to talk?"

"There's no need to look terrified. I'm not going to bite you or anything."

"I know," he said quickly, "I- I knew that."

She frowned at him before she sat up, "Did something happen? You're acting... weird."

"No, nothing."

She paused for a moment before she said, "Right." Natalie stood up and pulled her phone out. "I'm calling Dean and Charlotte cause something is up with you."

Sam jolted up and snatched her phone out of her hand. He winced and took a step back before he shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, I- I've got something to do."

Sam started to back up and Natalie slowly followed with a deep glare. "Something to do? Sam Winchester, start talking."

He gave her an awkward chuckle before he pointed at her. "No."

"No?"

"No."

Natalie stared at him for another moment before she stepped forward and tried to snatch her phone back. Sam's elbow met her cheek and she recoiled with a gasp, her hands to her face. "Oh, crap, crap, crap," Sam muttered before he started to back up even more. "I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't- I didn't mean to." He backed up until he hit the door and he scrambled for the handle before he scurried away, slamming the door behind him.

Natalie stared after him, her hands pressed against her stinging skin, assessing the damage that had been done. There wasn't a cut but she was sure it was going to leave one hell of a bruise. What the hell was wrong with Sam? She marched over to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of beer Sam had put in there and pressed it to her cheek before she marched over to the motel's phone. She sat on the bed, pulled the phone into her lap and started to dial, her foot tapping against the floor impatiently. "Charlotte? You and Dean need to scrap the ghost and get over here. Something is seriously wrong with Sam."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi: **Thank you! I don't write nearly enough Sam and Charlotte scenes, just as I don't write enough Natalie and Dean scenes. Which I'm trying to change. I'm sorry, but trust, me. I know how this story is ending. I know how the next one is starting. Nobody is happy. Nobody.

I like to think of Charlotte and Dean as a couple of horny teenagers who never grew out of that age. They're only going to get worse.


	71. 2010 January part 2

**A/N: **Here's part 2 of _Swap Meat_. I hope you guys enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

As a side note, I'm thinking about moving the updates to **Thursday** instead because things have changed in my life and Tuesday's are becoming a struggle for me. For now, we're sticking with Tuesday, but it may happen really soon.

* * *

2010 – January

Part 2

_Massachusetts – Housatonic_

Natalie winced as she lightly touched her nose and cheeks. If she didn't bruise she would be lucky. She sighed and re-grabbed the beer Sam had put in the fridge and pressed it to her face. The one thing they didn't have was just ice, the one thing she always made sure to have for any hunt, and she had to deal with beer. She swore she could smell the beer on her skin already and cursed her past self for lacking this one detail.

The door swung open and she turned as Dean walked in with a shout of, "Honey we're home!"

"Funny," Natalie mumbled.

Dean stopped two feet in, his eyes fixed on her face in a frown and Charlotte stopped just behind him, her own eyes wide. "Shit," she whispered.

She groaned and sat down on the bed. "How bad is it?"

Dean raised a hand to his face and started to lightly scratch his own cheek, just underneath his eye as he muttered, "You got a little-"

"Sam did that?"

"_Not_ Sam did this."

Dean tilted his head to one side as he stepped further into the room. "So if Sam isn't Sam, who is he?"

Natalie shrugged and pulled the beer bottle away to look up at the other two occupants in the room. Dean went straight to the fridge to grab a beer for himself whilst Charlotte sat, cross legged, on the other side of the bed, a worried expression on her face. "I woke up and he said he went out for breakfast. Two hours later he strolls in and asks if I want sex."

Dean coughed on his beer and slapped a hand to his chest as he worked on swallowing the mouthful of beer in had. He licked his lips and finally said, "Sam said that?"

"In as many words."

There was silence for a moment before Dean scoffed and shook his head, "Oh yeah. Definitely something wrong with him."

"And you don't know where he is now?" Charlotte asked.

Natalie shook her head with a shrug. "He just had things to do. Then he ran off with my phone."

"Well, that's definitely not Sammy," Dean said before he took another sip of beer.

"Jee, thanks, I called you hear for your expert opinion that I didn't already know."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and said, "Where's your laptop?"

Natalie sighed before she stood up and went over to the small table. She opened it up and looked over at Charlotte with a raised brow. "GPS?"

Charlotte nodded her head and leaned back on her arms. "Try yours and Sam's. Fingers crossed whoever's in there still has one of them on him."

Natalie nodded her head, her fingers already working their way across the keyboard. After a few moments she frowned and distractedly said, "He dumped my phone right outside the motel. His phone... is still on him and on. He's- he's at a bar?"

She turned to face the room and Dean emptied his beer before he set the empty bottle down and nodded his head to the door. "Let's go find him. It shouldn't be that hard, I mean, he is taller than everyone."

Natalie couldn't help the small chuckle and grabbed her jacket as she stood up and followed Charlotte to the door. Dean pulled the door open and waved them both through before he slammed it shut behind him, already asking for details of the bar as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. "I'm calling shotgun," she said, glancing at Charlotte.

Charlotte shrugged and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat as she followed behind her, "He's not yet potty trained, so you can keep him for a while."

Natalie laughed and shook her head, "I will never understand you two."

"Get in line," Dean mumbled.

* * *

Charlotte went to the bar and settled her hands on it as she looked up and down it. They'd split up in the busy room and somehow, nobody had spotted the giant that was Sam towering over the rest of the crowd. She sighed as she leaned forward before she dropped into a seat. How had they not found him? He was a giant of a man, hard to miss. She put her chin in her hand and watched the bar in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar. There were glimpses of Natalie and Dean, both looking lost and she shook her head. Maybe whoever was in Sam had just dumped his phone here to throw them off. If that was the case then how would they find him?

"Hey there."

She froze, raised her brows and slowly turned to look at the very man in question. That was one way to find him. "Hey," she said, dropping her hand and going for a small smile.

Sam seemed to grow a little more confident at her response as he smiled widely at her and propped one arm on the bar. "You come here often?"

She ground her teeth together and curled her hands in her fists to stop herself from laughing. Whoever was in Sam had the mental age of a kid. "Erm," she started, having to look away. She uncurled her hands and laid them on the bar before she went for a confused look as she looked back up at him, "no, actually. I'm erm, I'm new into town."

"Oh really?" She nodded her head and flicked her eyes to the mirror, wondering if the others had spotted them. Sam held his hand out and with a wider grin said, "What's your name?"

_Not a demon_, she crossed off in her mind and she decided to just go with honesty as she took his hand and shook it. "Charlotte."

"That's a nice name. Really suits you."

She bit down on her tongue with a wide grin, dying to laugh and nodded her head once with a small, "Thanks. What's your name?"

"Oh," Sam laid a hand over his chest, "I'm Gary."

Charlotte frowned slightly and pointed a finger at him, "You don't look like a Gary to me."

Gary's smile never faltered and he leaned forward as he said, "Yeah? What do I look like then?"

Charlotte leaned closer and couldn't stop the wide smirk on her face as she shrugged a shoulder and finally said, "I don't know. You look more- more like a Sam. Sam Winchester." The penny dropped in Gary's head and he stood up. Charlotte reached up and grabbed his arm, pulling him straight back down into his seat. "Stay there," she mumbled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket with her free hand. She scoffed as she glanced at him. "Who the fuck is Gary?"

"L-Look- we- we can talk okay, look-" he pulled on his arm and Charlotte didn't budge, just rolled her eyes and dialled Dean. "Ow, hey, let go."

"Keep struggling and you're gonna break Sam's arm." Dean picked up and Charlotte lifted head to look over her shoulder. "Bar. Got him." She hung up and turned as Gary tried to twist out of her hand and she grinned over at him. "Buddy, you're not going anywhere."

"Ow!" Gary cried again trying to wrench his arm free. "How are you- are you a demon? Is that- is that how you're doing it? Is that why I can't move?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and glared at him, "You caught me on a good day."

"Wait- is this- is this about the bounty?"

Charlotte frowned and said, "What bounty?"

* * *

Natalie glared at Gary, her arms folded over her chest as she sat on the bed, glaring at him. "Where's Sam?"

Gary could barely meet her eyes as he bit his lip and shrugged. "I'm- I'm sorry. About the whole-" he shrugged his shoulder lightly and offered her a sheepish smile.

Natalie's glare darkened. There was a nice blue bruise developing across her cheek and she repeated, "Where's Sam?"

"Just hit him!" Charlotte offered as she sat down next to her. She looked over at Gary and nudged Natalie's shoulder, "It's not technically Sam in there. And he did hit you first."

"Wait- wait- wait, that was an accident! Nobody needs to hit me!"

Natalie raised a brow as she looked over Sam's body. They'd dragged him to Dean's car and driven him to her motel room. Charlotte had manhandled him into a chair whilst Dean had cuffed his hands to it, keeping him in place as they tried to figure out what had happened. Gary hadn't been the most forthcoming person ever, just mumbling about how sorry he was and how he didn't mean to hit her. "I'm considering it."

"Alright," Dean started, holding his hands up. He turned to face Gary and let out a breath, "one last time. What's this bounty you mentioned?"

Gary looked up at Dean and slowly flicked his eyes from Natalie to Charlotte and back to Dean before he shifted in his seat. "You mean you don't know?"

"Why do you think we asked, moron?" Charlotte quipped.

"Hell," Gary said with a deep breath. "Hell's got a bounty on Dean and Sam Winchester."

Natalie frowned as she glanced at Dean. She slowly looked back at Gary and said, "And just who the hell are you to collect on that bounty?"

"You're not a demon," Charlotte said with a nod of her head, "or a pissed of Hunter."

"I'm- I just-" he sighed and shook his head. "Me and my friends we thought- we thought we could turn you guys over, cash in on the reward."

Natalie raised her brows and could feel the same expression being matched on Dean's and Charlotte's faces. She was the one to break the silence with the question that she was sure was on all of their minds. "You thought a bounty from _Hell_ would be cash? As in money?"

Gary looked from her to the others with a small nod. "Isn't that how bounties work?"

Dean scoffed and turned away with a dramatic sigh. "I'm not hearing this."

Charlotte kicked the leg of his chair with a frown. "Hell's bounties is usually power and souls for _demons_. For _humans_, it's death, with a capital d."

"What? No-" Gary started, "it's not. We were told we could have anything we wanted!"

Natalie froze and stared at him wide eyed. "Who said that?"

"The demon."

Dean shook his head and Natalie felt his pain as he said, "You are the dumbest person I have ever met."

"Hey!" Gary said.

Natalie stood up with a shake of her head. "I can't believe I'm hearing this right now." She took two steps before something forced her off her feet and sent her flying into the wall. Her head bounced against the wall and she fell to the floor, pain blossoming across her ribs.

"Nora?"

"Not at the moment."

Natalie managed to crack her eyes open to stare up from the floor and see Gary being freed by a teenage girl with black eyes. She looked in front of her to see Dean passed out and she tried to find where Charlotte was but she couldn't see the other woman.

"Does this- do I get my reward now?"

There was a chuckle and Natalie had to screw her eyes shut as she shifted, pain flaring across her head as she got a knee underneath her. "Anything you want," the demon said.

"I want to be a witch. For real. And- And really powerful."

"Oh fuck off," Charlotte grumbled from across the room.

There was the noise of something thunking against a wall as the demon hissed, "I'll get to you in a moment, Nephilim."

There was movement in front of Natalie and she looked up to see Dean silently pulling himself up. He crouched over to Natalie and gave her a thumbs up with a concerned look as he mouthed, "You okay?"

Natalie nodded her head with a small wince and pulled herself into a crouch. Dean pulled out a knife and stood up. She stood up and looked around her for her shotgun, full of rock salt, to help slow the demon down hopefully.

Dean crept forward and Natalie inched to the side of Dean to get a clear shot. She watched Dean's head glance over towards Charlotte and Natalie could see her beginning to push herself away from the wall, a stumble in her steps. It looked as though she was struggling to stand up and she frowned before she focused back on the demon who said, "You know, Gary. I get it. No daddy, no M.I.T, no plan. You get to be big and strong, nobody can tell you what to do anymore. There is, just one small formality first. You have to meet the boss."

Gary's face dropped as he took a pinstep back. "The boss?"

The demon nodded her head with a minute shrug of her shoulder, "You know- your Satanic majesty, or whatever the kids are calling it these days."

"The devil?"

"Mm-hmm."

Natalie drowned the conversation out as her eyes flicked over to Dean, now a foot behind the demon. Charlotte was inches away from him and she noticed the odd glow in her eyes and put her finger on the trigger. If they were ready for a fight, so was she. Dean moved first and Natalie raised the shotgun before the demon turned and caught his arm. In the next instant Dean was thrown into Charlotte and both of them were sent to the floor. Natalie hesitated for a moment, worried about catching either of them before she aimed at the demon. The gun was thrown from her hands and she looked up to watch the demon open her hand out at her, palm facing, and send her slamming back against the wall. "I hate demons," she grumbled as she slowly climbed back to her feet.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus," Gary started.

The demon turned its attention to Gary and Natalie found her footing and stood up, racking her brain for the exorcism as the demon turned to Gary and said, "What was that?"

"Uh, n-nothing."

"Were you trying to exorcize me? You little piece of crap!" Natalie jumped as the demon grabbed Gary's throat and lifted him up off his feet. She stared, in shock as she watched Sam's body struggle against the hand.

"Spiritus, omnis satanica potestas," Dean carried on.

The demon turned to Dean, her hand still around Gary's throat and waved him back. Charlotte jumped on her next, wrapping her arms around her chest and pulling her back away from Gary as he stumbled back. "Omnis, incur- ugh" Charlotte grunted as the demon stepped back and wriggled enough to slam an elbow into Charlotte's stomach.

"Incursio infernalis adversii," Gary continued where Charlotte left off and the demon turned to wave him as it stepped towards Charlotte and wrapped a hand around her throat. It marched her back and slammed her back into the wall, leaning close to growl some words at her.

"Omnis congregati, et secta disbolica," Dean carried on, inching forward.

"Ergo, draco maledicte," Natalie added, her eyes fixed on Charlotte's face as she struggled against the demon.

"Ecclesiam tuam securi tibi facias libertate servire," Gary said.

Dean said, "Te rogamus. Adios, bitch!"

The corners of Natalie's lips twitched into a smirk before she said, "It's 'adinos'." The demon dropped Charlotte and stepped back as it screamed, black smoke jetting from the girl's mouth.

* * *

The moment Sam was back in his right body he went straight over to Natalie and cupped her face, "Are you okay?" he asked as he turned her head to get a better look at her cheek.

She grabbed his hand and nodded her head, "I'm fine." She nodded her head to Gary, now in his rightful 17 year old body, "How was it going through puberty again?"

Sam blanched and shook his head, "Once is enough. For anyone."

"You're welcome!" Charlotte shouted across the room.

Dean hushed her as he pressed a bag of ice to her neck, "Let them have their moment. Keep that on there."

Charlotte hissed and glared up at him, "Are you trying to bruise something too?"

"Don't tempt me," Dean mumbled with a smirk before he turned to Gary and grabbed his arm, marching him to the door and out. "Let's go kid. Drop you off and never hear from you again."

Natalie looked over Dean and glanced at Charlotte. She waited until she caught the other woman's attention and nodded her head to the door. Charlotte frowned at her for a moment before she raised a brow, looked over at Sam and smirked. "Wait up!" she shouted as she opened the door, "I wanna see where this punk lives!"

The door shut behind her and Sam let out a small laugh. He grabbed Natalie's arm and stroked a thumb across her skin with a small hum. Natalie looked up at him with a warm smile and let out a small sigh as she grabbed his hand and pulled him gently towards the bed. He followed her with a curious frown, sitting next to her with a small, "Is everything alright?"

She nodded her head and intertwined their fingers together. She took a deep breath and slowly said, "Do you- do you want something from this? For- for us?"

After a few seconds of silence she dared to look up at Sam who was studying her intently. For a moment, she felt her heart sink. That wasn't a promising look from him and she started to pull her hands away from him. He kept a firm hold of her hands before he hung his head and shook it. "I'm an idiot," he mumbled.

Natalie stared, confused and swallowed nervously. "What?"

He looked back up at her with a warm smile and nodded his head. "Of course I want something for us. I love you. I- I probably haven't said it enough and I know that I seem like I've been distracted. I want to put it down to the apocalypse we've got hanging over our heads, but, Nat, I never, _never_ wanted you to feel like I was pushing you away." He slid off the bed onto his knees in front of her and brought her hands up to his lips. "I shouldn't be brushing you off and I should be spending more time with you. I've-" he sighed and shook his head, "I know I've been a little distant, a little, withdrawn if you will, but-"

He ducked his head for a moment before he took a deep breath and finally lifted his head to look up at her. "The last time I felt this serious about anybody, the last time I really wanted a future, a life, outside of hunting, somebody to go home to, somebody to hold in bed, just be with-" Sam faltered and closed his mouth, his chest rising and falling.

Natalie bit her lip and slowly nodded her head. "It's okay," she whispered.

Sam looked back up at her and his lips twitched into a small smile. "I'm scared. That, that if I get too close-" Sam scoffed and he shook his head. He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned against her. "I'm supposed to be Lucifer's vessel. The devil is all but begging me to say yes to being his puppet and the Angels want me to say yes, are trying to force me into it."

Natalie cupped his face and kissed his head. "Can you promise me something?"

Sam nodded and kissed her cheek, "Anything."

She smiled widely and stroked her thumbs over his cheeks. She couldn't describe how warm her chest felt at the moment and how painful it felt to hear those words from Sam's mouth. He didn't know if he would make it, if he was setting her up for heartbreak. He didn't want to hurt her and it made her want to love him all the more. "I love you," she said with an air of certainty, "and I want you to promise me that no matter what happens. For better of worse, we keep going. You and me."

"No matter what?"

Natalie chuckled shortly and nodded her head, "You and me."

Sam grinned and pecked her lips. "Promise."


	72. 2010 January part 3

**A/N:** Hey guys! So I've had people ask me what Charlotte's Djinn world would be like? What would she wish for that would change everything? Well, here you go. I finally did it. I've been meaning to do it for so long.

* * *

2010 – January

Part 3

_Montana – Shelby_

"Charlotte?" She scrunched her brows slightly at the soft voice that started to drag her from her deep sleep. "Come on," it cooed and it took her another soft, "Char?" for her to realise it was a guy. She frowned as the darkness of sleep disappeared and it hit her why the voice wasn't right.

It wasn't Dean's.

She sat up with a gasp, eyes snapping open and darting around the room to lock onto the face, inches away from her own. She reacted without thinking, slamming her hands into his shoulders and shoved him onto his back, her weight following the momentum as she landed on top of him, hands wrapped firmly around his shoulders.

He chuckled and the words she had in her mouth died with that chuckle. "Come on," he said, "really?"

"What?" she mumbled without thinking. She finally took a moment to take in the guy beneath her; soft brown eyes with wrinkles around the edges. Short brown hair that looked almost black and a soft smile with a soft jaw. Everything was so soft about him and she frowned, her mind flying a million miles per hour. Wasn't she just on a hunt? For- for what?

"Honey," he said and he grabbed her wrist gently. He stroked his thumb over her pulse point and she pulled away before she grunted and stood up, finally taking in the surroundings. A living room, with an adjoining kitchen. "I know, I know, you hate it when I wake you. But I wasn't letting you sleep on the couch."

She held a hand up as she turned in a circle, taking in the homely place she was in, and said, "Shhh." She stopped to face him as he stood up with a sigh. He brushed off his pant suits and his Mario shirt. He was taller than her, close to Sam's height and his muscles were more.. soft, like the rest of him.

He arched one brow and took a step towards her, arms up, "Look, it's been a long day. For both of us." Charlotte raised her own brows at that, at the ease this guy had as he strolled up to her, grabbed her wrists and gently kissed the back of her hands. "Let's sleep, and start again tomorrow?"

Charlotte's mouth worked to try to form words before she tugged her hands free and nodded her head. "Fine," she said and she started to walk away. "Let's sleep," underneath her breath she added, "maybe I'll wake up in the right room."

"What was that?"

Charlotte turned with a wide smile, "Nothing, just, erm, let me grab a drink first." She winked for good measure and watched this stranger as he studied her for a moment before he slowly curled his lips into his own tiny smirk and finally left with a tiny wave. She watched him leave, listened to his steps going up the stairs and let out a breath before she turned and gripped the kitchen counter. "The fuck is going on?" she mumbled. Her eyes locked on the phone on the counter and she grabbed it, automatically dialling Dean's number.

It took eight rings before he picked up with a sleepy, "What?"

"Dean?"

There was a pause and then, "Yeah?"

Her heart sank with that one syllable. "It's Charlotte?" she tried as she gripped the counter tightly.

"Who?"

She sighed, closed her eyes and shook her head. "Nothing," she mumbled before she ended the call and let her head hit the counter gently. What the hell was going on?

"Honey?"

Charlotte lifted her head and looked towards the stairs with a grimace. The last thing she wanted to do was go up there and pretend to know whoever he was. After a few seconds of staring at the stairs as if they wanted to swallow her up and made a start towards the front door. Maybe she could find a car and drive somewhere. She hadn't figured that much out yet, but she didn't want to be here.

She had her hand on the handle when there was a tiny cry from upstairs followed by a heavy sigh. "I've got her!" Charlotte froze and listened to the cries carry on before she let go and turned back towards the stairs. Something pulled her up them and towards the sound and she followed it down a corridor before she stopped at a door at the end. Her eyes widened as she stared at the baby this stranger cuddled to his chest and she felt the familiarity warm her chest. He looked up at her with a tired smile and nodded his head towards the door as he gently shook the baby in his arms. "Get some sleep, I've got her."

Charlotte shook her head and stared at the baby and her eyes slowly drifted to the letters that were pinned to the door. It was sappy, but it made the corners of her lips twitch as she read the name _Hannah_ on the door.

She turned back to the room and frowned at the expanse of dark emptiness that hung around her. There was something eerie and wrong about that darkness and she shook her head and blinked a couple of times before Hannah and the stranger came back into her vision. She stared, open mouthed and turned in a slow circle before she caught him staring at her with a worried frown. Hannah had stopped crying and he whispered, "Char?"

This wasn't right, but it felt good. Nice. Normal. She turned and went back into the hallway. She opened door after door until she found the bathroom and she closed it shut behind her, bolted it and turned to the mirror. The first thing she noticed was the short bob of blonde hair she had and she grimaced at it, lifting her hands to fiddle with the ends of her hair before she tugged her shirt over her head. Her eyes went straight to her right shoulder and there was no scar, no twisted healed flesh from the vampire bite. She turned and looked at the back of her shoulder. No freaky scar there either and she slowly started to run her fingers over her skin, memories of scars that weren't there and she let out a breath.

No scars. Did that mean that she never hunted? Her Dad never tried to find the angels that killed her Mom? Or was her Mom- "Mom," she whispered, "Dad." A slow smile started to curl her lips before she frowned and shook her head. Her Mom was dead. Her Dad was dead. She was a hunter. Bobby took care of her. Sam was her brother. Dean was her husband. Natalie. Jo. Ellen. Ash. She did not make that up.

She scrambled to pull her shirt on before she went downstairs, found the nearest set of shoes that fit her, pulled a jacket on and grabbed a set of car keys. She ignored the shouts of the guy and slammed the front door behind her before she unlocked the car for the keys. There was a beep and she followed it, locking and unlocking the car until she found it and she groaned at the sight of a Ford Taurus parked against the curb. "It'll do," she mumbled before she climbed in, adjusted the seat and turned the ignition on.

Charlotte gripped the steering wheel and felt something inside of her hesitate and she bit her lip, her eyes staring out of the windscreen. Something warm brushed over the back of her neck and she turned to look out of the window before she sighed and frowned. After a few seconds she looked back towards the house that she'd just come from and felt herself gravitating towards it. Slowly, she pulled the key out of the ignition, climbed out of the car and took hesitant steps towards the house.

She was three steps away when the door swung open and he stood there, still as strange as the first time she'd woken up to see him. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

Charlotte opened her mouth before she shrugged and held her hands up. "I don't know. I don't-" _I don't belong here._

"Can you please come inside and talk to me?" She swallowed and found herself nodding her head, something familiar about the warmth of his eyes. She followed behind him and made her way towards the living room, his footsteps following her. "Whatever's going on, can we please talk about it? Before tomorrow?"

"What's tomorrow?"

"What's- Richard?" Charlotte turned to look at him with a raised brow and shook her head. That name meant nothing to her. "Your brother? He's getting married?"

"My- my brother?"

He stared at me with a deep frown before he said, his voice full of concern, "Did you hit your head?"

"I- I- yes. I did. Earlier. I- I hit it. Hard." She shrugged half heartedly and swallowed nervously. "Sorry, meant to tell you."

He frowned at her for a seconds then sighed and moved to the high chair. Hannah had quietened and Charlotte watched her look over at her curiously. She raised a brow and stared back at the child with a silent, "What?"

"I'll be right back," he murmured and he disappeared up the stairs.

Charlotte turned to watch him go when there was a cry. She jumped and stared at Hannah before she shifted in her seat with a grimace. "Are you done?" she whispered. Hannah waved her little arms in the air and started to shout and cry louder. Charlotte stood up and slowly walked over to her, shaking her head. "I don't know what to do," she mumbled as she grabbed Hannah underneath her shoulders and slowly wriggled her out of the high chair. She held out from her at arms length and pulled a face before she hesitantly brought her against her chest. She wrapped one arm around her and nervously started to rub small circles into her back. Hannah started to quieten down and Charlotte tried to angle her head to look at her with a grumble of, "Now you're happy?" There was the sound of a toilet flushing and Charlotte pulled Hannah away from her chest and started to ease her into the high chair. Hannah started shouting again and Charlotte groaned before she pulled her back against her chest. "Brat," she mumbled.

There was a chuckle from the door and Charlotte turned to see him standing there. She raised a brow at him and he grinned as he stepped forward and gently placed his hands on her arms. "There's the girl I married."

He leaned in to peck her lips and Charlotte was too frozen to the spot to stop him. "Married?" she echoed once he pulled back.

He furrowed his brows slightly and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "You really did bang your head hard didn't you?" Charlotte glanced down at her left hand, wrapped snugly around Hannah, and stared at the gold band on her ring finger.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi:** I hope it only got better for you. *wink* I'm really excited for everything that is season 5! Charlotte and Dean are always going to be my favourite. I just love their relationship.

Do Dean and Charlotte have wedding rings? No. They don't. It was literally a "Yes I will marry you, and yes I do too" kind of wedding. No rings. Nothing. That was why Dean initially gave her War's ring as a kind of promise that he does want to give her a ring but that that was all that he had at the time. This will come up later. I promise, I just can't tell you when.

How long have Sam and Natalie been dating? Well, since they first met in October of '08, they were texting and calling between hunts and such. Keeping the conversation going. But between chapters, when the Winchesters, Charlotte and Natalie maybe briefly got together at Bobby's for a rest, she'd see him then. So kind since October '08 - nearly 15 months?

Dean wants that kind of future. And so does Charlotte. But the longer their life goes on, the more they hunt and the bigger the monster gets, the less likely they both see it happening. They're waiting for that time they can turn their back on the world, say "I quit" and be happy to let the world be. Until then, they're going to want it and wish for it, but both of them will believe that it'll never happen.


	73. 2010 January part 4

**A/N:** Who's excited for Christmas? I am! Heads up, there may not be a chapter next week. I have a lot of plans over the weekend and next week so it'll be a little crazy for me. If I do get one up, you'll know. If not, I'll let you guys know. Enjoy part 2 of Charlotte's Djinn world.

* * *

2010 – January

Part 4

_Montana – Shelby_

Charlotte sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the bedside clock. Somehow she'd been convinced to get into bed with this stranger. Somehow she'd kicked off some pants in favour of shorts and had laid next to him until he'd started snoring, then she'd sat up and stared at the clock. The clock ticked over to show 3:41 and she shook her head to finally pull her gaze away from it and she glanced back at the bed. She still didn't have a name for the stranger and although there was a strange tugging in her gut, there was a bigger part of her that knew that this was wrong. She was supposed to be married to Dean, have Sam as a rabbit fed brother, Natalie as her best friend and Jo her sister, Bobby her dad who liked his whiskey far too much.

Charlotte flicked her attention to her hand and stared at the gold band. She shook her head, pulled it off and put it on the bedside table. She stood up and grabbed her pants and shoes, creeping her way out of the room. She was on a hunt. She was sure of it. Her memory was a little foggy on the details but last time she remembered she was in some run down mill, following something with a silver knife. Then something had blocked her path and she'd woken up on the couch.

She crept down the stairs, grabbed the car keys and turned to head towards the front door. Only, there was no intact, green door. There wasn't a small corridor. Instead, there was a smashed window and a door that creaked on its hinges. Dust rolled across the creaking floor, a slight whistle echoing around her. Charlotte frowned and took a step towards the door, the image familiar to her and she managed two steps before something invisible stopped her. She turned, saw a living room and turned again to see the correct door back where it should've been.

"Vampires?" she whispered to herself before she took one more look around the room and hurried out. That was the mill, it must've been. She shook that thought away as she climbed back into the car and turned the ignition on. It sounded nothing like her Pontiac and a pang of hurt fluttered through her chest. As much as she abused that car, she also loved it almost more than anything. Almost more than Dean.

She pulled out of the road and just drove, turning randomly until she came to the turn that left town. She put the indicator on and stopped, tapping her finger against the steering wheel. She was hunting, she was sure of it. Hunting... something that was taking people, so how did she end up in a world where her Mom was still alive and hunting never... "Djinn," she whispered.

Was this really her what if? What if the angels had never interfered? What if her Mother never died? What if her Dad never got into hunting? What if she wasn't part angel? The car ticked with each blinking orange light of the car and she wrung her hands on the wheel. She was married, with a kid. A brother, who was getting married. No hunting. No guns. No worrying about making it into next week. No apoc- The apocalypse.

She turned the car around and drove back to the library she passed, thankful that it was still open, and left the keys in the car as she walked inside. She asked the librarian where the computers were and started looking back through the last years news articles. There was a sweep of death running through the country, passing through Arizona and into New Mexico. There were rumours of the mysterious disease appearing in Texas and she closed her eyes. Almost fifty people had died and she had stopped it in Arizona, she was sure.

There were other hunts where more people died, where the monster wasn't stopped in time and she felt the anger boiling up inside of her chest. She flicked through a few more pages before she stopped at one that talked about a Roadhouse in Nebraska. Ellen's Roadhouse. It had still burnt down and Ash's body had still been found inside.

"So that one wasn't entirely my fault?" she mumbled to herself.

Her phone started to ring and she cursed, rushing to pull it out of her pocket and answer the call. She looked up to see the Librarian glaring at her and she raised a hand with a mouthed, "Sorry," before she whispered, "Hello?"

"Charlotte?" a tired male voice said and she frowned. "Stop freaking Wayne out."

"Who's Wayne?"

There was a pause before he sighed and she could feel the shake of a head, "Your husband. That you had a child with. He's worried. You've been freaking out all day. Go home, get some sleep."

Charlotte furrowed her brows together and pulled her phone away to stare at the name on the screen. Richard glared back at her and her eyes widened. "Richard?"

His voice took a tone of irritation as he grumbled, "Who else? Go home. Please. Stop this."

"You don't understand," she pleaded, her mind trying to force two sentences out at once. "This isn't- I want to see- Dean- you- you're, you're getting married! My _brother_."

"Right, okay, look, can you do one thing for me?"

Charlotte nodded before she knew what she was doing and she mumbled a quick, "Yeah?"

"Go home. To Wayne. To Hannah. Sleep, come to my wedding and just, try not to sound too crazy."

Something sunk in her chest and she felt the air leave her lungs. Don't sound too crazy? She slowly nodded her head and hung up without so much of a goodbye. Crazy? What was that supposed to mean? She put her phone down and glanced back at the computer screen, the article that glared at her talking about something from 04. She slumped back in her seat and sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. Crazy. She was crazy.

The last person who called her crazy was Bobby, and that was for pulling a stupid stunt that almost got her killed. "Bobby," she whispered with a small smile before she blinked and frowned. Gabriel had fixed his legs, if he still ended up unable to walk. But that was only because she had asked him to, if she never asked Gabriel to fix Bobby's legs, because she didn't know either of them, then did that mean... She grabbed her phone and dialled Sam's number.

It rang six times before he answered with a gruff, "Hello?"

"Sam?"

"Who's this?"

She shook her head and the lie rolled off her tongue, "An old friend of Bobby's." Well, it wasn't really a lie. Not technically, unless she really was crazy. "Look, I, I heard he got hurt. Bad. Is he still in the wheelchair?"

There was a slight hesitation before Sam let out a small breath and said, "Yeah. He is. What did you say your name was?"

Charlotte put her head on the table. Bobby was still in a wheelchair and she shook her head, the event in Carthage coming back to her and she mumbled out, "How are Jo and Ellen? You guys were friends right? I heard the Roadhouse burnt down but I can't remember what anybody said about them?"

There was another pause before Sam said, "I'm- I'm sorry. There was a- a hunt in Carthage, it erm, it didn't go well."

"For both of them?"

She could feel the nod in the silence before Sam said, "Yeah. I'm sorry."

No. No. No.

Jo was alive. Bobby was fine. Natalie was- She lifted her head and ended the call with Sam before she dialled Natalie's number. It rang and rang and Charlotte could feel the nausea beginning to turn in her stomach. _"Nat's gone. If you need any help call Chris on-" _Charlotte tried again, and again, and again. She listened to the same message and felt her stomach twist even more.

Everything was wrong with this world and she stomped back to her car and turned the engine on. After a few seconds she let out a gasp and thudded her head against the steering wheel with a cry. "No," she whispered, "no, no, no," she rambled with wet tears. "No! Fucking, fuck!" She slammed her hand against the dashboard and shook her head as the tears started to stream down her face. "Fuck you!" she yelled, slamming her hand down again. "Fuck! You! You can't do this!"

She slammed her hand again and let her body sag against the steering wheel, her shoulders shaking from the tears. If she had hunted, she'd have no family except the makeshift one that revolved around hunting and death around every corner. If she never hunted her family would be alive and she'd have her own, but the other one would be gone.

"That's not fair," she cried, "that's not fair!"

She let out a frustrated groan and kicked at the car. What was she supposed to do? Choose? Hunting and lose everything she wanted? Or have everything she wanted, a family, a house, a child, and lose everything she loved? Dean or Wayne? Richard or Sam? Bobby or her parents? Jo or neither? Nat or not? "It's not fair," she cried out. "I can't, I can't choose."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Lexi: **I smile every time I read your comments and trust me, I felt the exact same way! And yes, Dean and Charlotte will get actual wedding rings. Eventually. It's not going to be for a while though so hold your breath.

Yeah, I am going to hurt with season 5. Just a little bit.


	74. 2010 January part 5

**A/N:** Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and had a safe time! Here's the next chapter of Djinn universe for Charlotte. Enjoy and please let me know what you think! Thank you.

Also, I did not realise that I was getting close (date wise) to the end of this story. It's going to end "2010 – May" and we're in January. Who's ready? Who's not ready?

* * *

2010 – January

Part 5

_Montana – Shelby_

Charlotte stared at the pictures that hung on the wall in the living room. She looked happy on them, with Wayne and Hannah, like she belonged. Her eyes darted to another picture, one of her with her own parents and she smiled warmly. They looked great, alive and together. She smiled widely and couldn't help but to grab the picture off the wall and sit down with it in her lap. There was a strange sense of warmth that filled her chest and Charlotte couldn't help but to stroke her fingers over the glass. It was a recent picture of her parents, but they were alive still, alive and well and they looked happy in love.

A knock on the door made her jump and Charlotte frowned. Wayne had taken Hannah to the wedding, telling Charlotte to rest and get better, that nobody would hold it against her. As much as she wanted to know what he'd meant by that, she kept her mouth shut and had just nodded her head with a small, "Good plan."

Charlotte stared at the living room door when there was another knock and she stood up, dropping the photo onto the couch. She crept towards the kitchen to grab a knife before she closed her eyes and shook her head, letting go of one of the knives in the knife rack. It wasn't going to be a monster on the other side of that door.

She turned towards the front door and froze, brows drawn into a deep frown at the old, rickety doorway that swung open. A figure stepped out and instinct had her trying to duck around the nearest corner, only she couldn't move. "Wha-" she managed, her voice hoarse and muffled. The figure looked up at her, blue eyes gleaming at her as his tattoos stood out against his pale skin. "Fu-" she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper and she tried to move her arms again.

He chuckled and stepped over to her, a hand coming around her neck. "Shhh," he whispered and the room disappeared.

Charlotte closed her eyes, the darkness warm and comforting. A knock intruded her peace and she snapped her eyes open to see the front door staring at her. She blinked several times before she pulled herself up off the floor and stumbled towards it. When she opened it she blinked and froze, her lips parting as she stared across the threshold at her Mother. "Mom," she whispered, her voice sounding normal. Her Mother was dressed in a stylish powder blue dress that looked as though it belonged as far away from Charlotte as possible. "You're here," Charlotte mumbled.

Her Mother smiled widely, the corners of her eyes crinkling with the smile. "Hey sweetie, Wayne said you weren't-"

Charlotte cut her off as she threw the door the rest of the way open, stepped forward and engulfed her Mother in a tight hug. "You're alive," she whispered, screwing her eyes shut.

To her credit, her Mother hugged her back and stroked her hand over Charlotte's hair, making her sink into the embrace even more. "I am, honey, I am. Come on, let's get you inside and we'll have a drink."

Charlotte nodded, a tear in her eye and she stepped back, lifting a hand to wipe her eyes as her Mother closed the door. She was alive, her, in the flesh, talking to her. "Mom," she said again, the foreign word sounding natural on her lips.

Helen chuckled and stepped forward to kiss Charlotte's cheek, her other hand cupping her other cheek. "Go sit down, I'll bring you some cocoa."

"Cocoa?" Charlotte mumbled, brows raised in surprise.

Her Mother gave her a knowing smirk and winked, "One of your favourites."

"It is?" she whispered to herself as her Mother made herself at home in her kitchen. Charlotte watched her for a moment before she licked her lips and trudged back into the living room and flicked the TV on. She sat down and waited, unsure of what to do with herself and she changed the channel to the news.

There was a report on about some mysteriously killed cattle on a farm in Iowa and Charlotte's head red flagged it as a werewolf before the news changed to something about local storms picking up across the country.

"Here you go," Helen said and Charlotte turned her head, eyes fixed on the screen before she finally flicked her gaze up to grab the outstretched mug. She cradled it in both hands and folded her legs underneath her as she watched the TV, bringing the mug up to take a tiny sip. Something hit the back of her throat with a small kick and she looked down at her drink with a small frown before she looked up at her Mother again, who held the same smirk as before. "Extra chocolate with a dash of cinnamon."

"Right," she said, taking another sip before she frowned, her eyes catching the blue fabric. "Aren't you supposed to be at Richard's wedding?"

Helen shrugged and leaned back in her seat, "A Mother can't check on her daughter?"

Charlotte frowned, ignoring the blossom of warmth in her chest. She ducked her head with a tight smile and felt her cheeks up at the idea of how comforting this simple gesture was. She cleared her throat and shook her head, "You don't need to check up on me."

"No, but I want to." Charlotte slowly raised her head and couldn't stop the smile that started to spread across her cheeks. Helen grinned back and took a sip of her own drink. "Are you sure everything's alright?" Charlotte blinked and stared at her Mother before she opened and closed her mouth a few times. Her Mother saved her from having to answer with a quiet, "Wayne said you'd been having trouble lately?"

The smile disappeared from her face and she stared down at her drink. _This is wrong. I want it to be right but it isn't. _"Trouble how?"

"Lottie, honey." Charlotte looked up at the nickname and could remember her Dad calling her the same thing. It was what he always called her, never Charlotte, always Lottie. "I know things have been tough since the accident-"

Charlotte frowned and straightened up in her seat, "What accident?"

Helen studied her for a moment before she let out a soft sigh and leaned forward. She set her cup on the floor and scooted closer to Charlotte. She smiled softly and Charlotte felt all of the warmth leave her. "Just after Hannah was born you were involved in an accident. For seven months you were in a coma, you were dreaming, about this other life." Charlotte opened her mouth before she frowned and looked away with a deep frown. She didn't have any scars though or any- she screwed her eyes shut as something suddenly came back to her. She was slumped over a steering wheel, the feeling in one of her arms gone. When she looked at it it was clear that it was broken and she could feel blood dripping down her face.

Charlotte opened her eyes and slowly shook her head. There was a warm hand, brushing strands of short blonde hair out of her eyes and she looked up towards her Mother with wide eyes. There was no way that she made Sam and Dean up. No way she made an entire life up, not when it was clear there were things that she knew- "No," she mumbled, standing up. "No. That's-" the cocoa fell across the floor and Charlotte stepped back, uncaring. "There was no crash. This- this isn't real-" she whispered and she stared at her Mother, tiling her head to one side with a watery grimace. "You're not- you died. I don't- I'm not marrie- I _am_ but not, not to _him_. I don't know Wayne or Hannah or Richard. I- this isn't real!"

Helen stepped over the spilt cocoa and grabbed Charlotte by her shoulders firmly. "Do I feel real? Do I sound real? Sweetie, I am real. The Doctor explained it, things are going to seem out of it for a while."

"But-"

Helen smiled worriedly before she pulled Charlotte against her. Charlotte stood frozen for a moment before she wrapped her arms back around her Mother and clung tightly, tears streaming down her face. This wasn't fair. How could she have her Mother but everything was different? What about Nat? Dean? Sam? Bobby? How could she have this life and expect to ignore everything that was going on in the world? The apocalypse? Lucifer? Michael? The angels? "This isn't fair," she cried quietly. "It's not fair." She wanted to cling to this reality, wanted to cling to the fact that her Mother was alive but she wasn't, she couldn't be. Charlotte had been there the night she died, had known what had happened. "It's not fair," she whispered.

"Shhh," Helen hushed, "shh, it's okay. I've got you, sweetie, I've got you. Shh." Charlotte cried, the world crowding in around her until the light disappeared and she sunk into the warm, dark embrace of her Mother's arms.

* * *

It had been a week since that incident and Charlotte was beginning to get accustomed to everything. There were nights where she slept on the couch, and sometimes she'd spent her nights in Hannah's room, trying to remember what was real and what wasn't. The longer she stayed the more she 'remembered' things, her childhood. School, boyfriends, sneaking out of the house to go to parties and get drunk. Smoking, quitting smoking, her first job, passing her drivers test. Everything was beginning to slide into place and somehow, it still didn't sit right.

But she didn't know. She wanted so badly for this world to be real, but she wanted the other world to be real too. How could she choose? Happiness in ignorance or happiness in death and despair? She was slowly forgetting how she came into this situation and woke up wondering if she wanted to stay. She went to bed wondering if this world really was that bad and if it wasn't meant to be then she'd wake up in a crappy motel with a lumpy mattress and crappy wallpapers. But she always woke up here. Maybe the angels had been right, maybe she was never meant to interfere in the first place. Maybe she was supposed to be here anyway.

Maybe.

But maybe she was supposed to make friends with Dean and Sam Winchester. Maybe she did really fall in love with Dean and just maybe she did marry him and mean it.

Maybe.

* * *

Charlotte was numb. Each day had been passing in clouds of "what if's" and "maybes". She sat at the dining room table, stabbing at the pancakes Wayne had made her whilst Hannah babbled away in her high chair.

There was a ringing and she lifted her head, idly looking off towards the noise before she frowned. The noise was coming from the TV and last time she checked their house phone was in the kitchen and Wayne always had his mobile on him. Charlotte's sat upstairs on the bedside table, untouched. The ringing came again and she recognised it as the tone her 'hunting' phone had.

"Mama."

She snapped her head round, the ringing a distant noise as she stared at Hannah. "What?" she blurted.

Hannah laughed and clapped her hands together as she said, "Mama."

"Well," Wayne said, coming over to pick Hannah up, "first word. And it's about time." He kissed Hannah's cheek and brought her up to his cheek as he grabbed her tiny wrist and pointed it towards Charlotte. "Who's that?"

"Mama," Hannah exclaimed, her voice full of excitement.

"Yeah!" Wayne congratulated and Hannah shuffled in his arms with a loud laugh.

Charlotte frowned and looked away again towards the ringing. She set her fork down and pushed her chair back, her eyes focused on the spot where the noise was coming from. It stopped for a moment before it started again and she stared at it, tilting her head to one side and narrowed her eyes. Slowly, the TV began to disappear and an old wooden table, dusty and filled with rusty tools and odd bits and ends, covered in cobwebs, appeared. On it was a knife and a phone that lit up the room as it rang again, called ID letting her know that Dean was calling.

"What am I doing?" she mumbled to herself and she snapped her eyes up and felt her body ache with the effort. Her hands were bound together above her head. She felt weak and nauseous and could barely crack her lips open.

"Charlotte."

She snapped her head back round to see Wayne stood next to her, Hannah still in his hands. "You're not real," she mumbled, "you never were."

He let out a breath and shrugged a shoulder, "It could be, if you wanted it to. I mean, it's not too bad here right?"

Charlotte took a step back and shook her head, her bottom lip wavering. She would give anything for this to be partly real, anything. Hell her parents were alive and she had a brother. But reality and dreams were different. She took another step back and steeled herself with a shake of her head. "No."

"_Char? Come on baby, wake up." _She frowned and ducked her head. That sounded an awful lot like Dean.

"So you'd rather be hunting for the rest of your life?" She looked back up at Wayne and nodded her head. He scoffed and let show a tight smile, "So I'm that bad huh?"

Charlotte tilted her head with a deep frown and opened her mouth with a whine, "You're not real."

"_Wake up, come on, I know you can hear me." _

She screwed her eyes shut as Wayne took another step in her direction. Charlotte focused on the sound of Dean's voice and the vague feeling of hands running across her face, trying to coax her awake. There was an ache in her muscles and when she opened her eyes again everything hurt and it was dark. She cracked her eyes open and tried to focus in on where Dean's voice was coming from.

"Oh thank God," Dean mumbled and she made a small noise when he kissed her forehead. This was real, this was life.

"D-Dean," she hoarsely murmured, her voice barely there.

"Shh, shh, I got you. I got you." She made a non committal sound and closed her eyes again with a small sigh.

* * *

The next time she woke up everything ached. She managed to crack her eyes open and let out a hiss. Everything was too bright and nothing lined up right, it was all just fuzzy.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," Dean's voice seemed quiet and far away but the dip in the bed let Charlotte know that he was right there next to her. His hand was a comforting, warm weight as it stroked her back and shoulders.

"D-Dean," she croaked, her voice sore, "wha-?"

There was a pause and she could feel his brows knit together as he studied her with a worried frown. "You were gone three days before I found you. I told you to wait for back up."

Charlotte snorted and snuggled closer to the warmth of his body. "No time," she grumbled groggily. She felt drunk and hungover at the same time and didn't dare open her eyes.

"There was plenty of time," he scolded and Charlotte felt guilt begin to eat her up.

"Sorry," she whispered and she slowly moved her hand. It felt like it took all of her energy and time to bring a hand up and find his knee. She scratched at his leg until he linked their fingers together and she squeezed them with what little energy she had left. "Sorry."

There was another pause before she felt Dean shift and he lifted her hand to kiss the back of her knuckles, his thumb swiping across the back of her hand. "Just get some sleep alright?"

Charlotte nodded her head and felt herself quickly falling back into a slumber.

* * *

Charlotte laughed at the corny joke on the TV, her head bouncing against Dean's shoulder as he laughed too. They'd been cooped up for almost three weeks with nothing but take out, beer for Dean and water for her, and the crappy TV with its crappy twenty channels. The mattress was lumpy and far from comfortable and the wallpaper was one light breeze away from peeling.

Dean had been keeping a close eye on her, making sure she stayed in bed for as long as he could make her and forced her to promise to not go anywhere whenever he did a run for food. He'd waved off her question about Sam with, "He's hopefully getting on with Nat, if not, I'm not picking him back up." It took a whole week for Dean to finally let her take a few shaky steps outside and sit down on one of the equally shaky benches. "Losing close to three pints'll do that to you," he'd murmured as he sat down next to her and let her use him for support.

But Charlotte wouldn't have it any other way.

She let herself lean against his chest, his arm wrapped tightly around her the only security she needed as they watched crappy reruns for the third time in a row. _Yep, wouldn't have it any other way. _

* * *

**A/N:**

**Percabeth8899: **Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

**Lexi: **That's a lot to ask. It was a very close contest, Charlotte's Pontiac is a very close second in her life compared to Dean. Very close.

I am hoping to go straight into the next story once this one finishes. I already know how I want it to start so that's something. If anything I may take like 1 week off to iron out the kinks.

If they hadn't had the miscarriage the baby would've been a girl and looked closer to Charlotte than Dean, but of course she would've had Dean's eyes. Personally, I think Dean would like to have a girl more than a boy. It would be really funny to see his over protectiveness come through, and to be honest, Charlotte would be the same. Charlotte on the other hand would prefer to have a boy.

Charlotte and Dean would not be your typical parents. I can imagine that they'd be giving each other a look or "hinting" as they so well do already, then they'd pass their kid over to Sam or Natalie and say, "back in an hour". I can imagine that they'd both panic a lot as neither of them know what they're doing, but Charlotte would be the one trying to think about what they should feed their child whilst Dean would share whatever it was that he was eating. Both of them would have to watch their mouths around it, which would be difficult for them and they'd argue over who would go see to their crying kid during the night.

Honestly, I don't plan on writing a baby into the story for Charlotte and Dean anytime soon. I have a lot of stuff planned to get through and a baby isn't one of them for the couple. For Sam and Natalie though…. "wink".

And thank you! That means so much to me! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story as much as me and thank you for the compliments. *blushes *


	75. 2010 February

**A/N: **Hey guys, so for the time being I'm updating on Thursday's instead of Tuesday. Thank you all for understanding. Now, we're up to _The Song Remains The Same._ You have no idea how much I've been wanting to do this one and struggling at the same time. Sorry for the shortness but the next one will be longer. Enjoy.

Remember guys, questions are welcome!

* * *

2010 – February

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte watched the TV with a lazy smile. It had been a few weeks since the Djinn thing, but she still wasn't feeling one hundred percent and as much as she liked to complain about slacking off, she really did enjoy the down time. She'd been forced to stay away from the alcohol so she'd made do with root beer until Bobby gave her the all clear. So she'd kicked back on his couch and enjoyed as much TV as she could cram into her day.

Dean had gotten her into his crappy _Dr Sexy MD_ and she found herself fixated to the screen as she watched the drama unfold in the hospital. She winced as one of the Nurses slapped the guy she was sleeping with and stormed off.

She was drawn away from the screen by her ringing phone and she tried to carry on watching the show as she swiped her hand across the floor and patted it until she found her phone. "Yeah?" she mumbled, half distracted by the third girlfriend Dr Sexy was with.

"What are they doing?" Natalie hissed.

Charlotte raised a brow and lifted her half empty root beer as she sat up and swung her legs over the couch. "Who?"

Natalie sighed and Charlotte could feel the glare that she was getting through the phone. "Sam and Dean!"

"I'm not their babysitter!"

"Charlotte!"

Charlotte held her phone away from her ear with a frown and slowly put it back in place. "Okay, what's this about?"

"Sam left me a message, telling me that no matter what happens-"

She closed her eyes and sighed, "I'll kill them both myself."

"So do you know what they're doing?"

"No," Charlotte set her drink down ran a hand over her face. That was an end of the line message if she heard one. She didn't even need to know the rest to know what it included. She tapped her finger against her cheek and sighed as she tried to figure out the best way to find them. "You call them?"

"Voicemail."

"Well," Charlotte started, "that's a sign they could already be dead. Which case, we're too late."

"Charlotte," Natalie growled, "now is not the time."

Charlotte threw her head back with a groan and shrugged her shoulders, "Gimme ten minutes. I'll call you back." She hung up and fell back against the couch as she dialled Dean's number. It went straight to voicemail and she raised a brow as she prayed for Cas. Cas had to know where they were and he could track them. "Come on, Cas, give a girl a hand."

Nothing.

"Alright," she mumbled quietly to herself, her brows furrowed into a frown. "If I was two idiot Winchesters, doing fuck knows what, where would I be?" After a few minutes of quietly thinking to herself she shook her head. "Dead? Dying? Ugh." She groaned as she sat up and put her elbows on her knees. "Gabe?" she mumbled.

It was another full minute before there was a rustle and Gabriel appeared, dressed in what looked like nothing more than a dressing gown. Charlotte raised a brow at his attire and opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it, his arms held out with a short, "What?"

"Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes. Now, what?"

She rolled her eyes and stood up, "Can you track Sam and Dean for me?"

Gabriel paused for a moment before he raised his brows and gave her a look, "The giant moose and the short stuff? Why would I want to do that?"

"Cause you're a nice guy?"

Gabriel let out a short laugh and shook his head, "Nice try sweetheart."

Charlotte sighed and let her arms drop by her sides. There was an edge of irritation in her voice as she spoke, the Djinn thing creeping up on her again as she felt herself beginning to tire with a small headache. "I'll owe you one! Just, find them?"

He pursed his lips together before he smirked and tilted his head to one side. "Done. Can't find them. Can I go now?"

Her frown was back and deeper than before, "What do you mean you can't find them?"

He stared at her as though she'd asked him what colour the sky was and said, "Cas signed their ribs? You know, hid them from Angels. Archangel," he gestured to himself, "is still an Angel."

Charlotte stared at him for a few moments and hung her head. She shrugged her shoulders and slowly looked back up at Gabriel. "Track Cas then, you must be able to do that?"

Gabriel held a finger up with a frown before he paused and pursed his lips into an o shape and slowly raised his brows. He tilted his head and slowly nodded it. "Found him, zap," he mumbled as he pressed a hand to her arm.

Charlotte blinked and suddenly she was stood in a motel room, alone. She turned in a circle, looking for Gabriel before she eyed the lump of tan overcoat on the bed and rushed over to push Cas onto his back. His eyes were closed and he grunted and Charlotte worried as she gently shook his shoulder. "Cas? You okay? What happened?"

He groaned and he frowned and slowly cracked his eyes open. He peered up at her and she could see the pain he went through just to do that, "Charlotte?"

She smiled and nodded her head, pressing her hand to his head to see if he had a fever. _Do Angels even get fevers?_ "Hey, you okay?"

"No." He closed his eyes and she felt him relax, turning his head to burrow it against his pillow.

Charlotte raised her brows and nodded her head, pushing his hair away from his eyes. "Uh huh," she mumbled, "helpful."

"I need rest."

She nodded her head and perched on the edge of the bed, her hands in her lap. "Okay, everybody needs to rest some time. Where are the two idiots you were probably with?"

"Sam and Dean?"

Charlotte smirked at the fact that Cas picked up on the nickname. "Who else?"

Cas groaned and screwed his eyes up, "You're too loud."

She shook her head and poked Cas' side. "What happened to you?" she whispered.

"Time travel," Cas mumbled back.

Charlotte stared at him with a deep frown and closed her eyes for a moment. "Time travel?"

"Yes."

"To when!"

"1978."

Charlotte lifted her head and stood up, taking in the really outdated décor and wallpaper and couldn't help but feel it dawn on her. The seventies. No wonder it felt like her childhood was coming back. "Why are we back in the seventies? What-"

"Anna," Cas mumbled, "wants to kill Mary and John..." he groaned and threw an arm over his head.

"To make sure Lucifer's vessel is never born," she finished off. She marched over to the bedside drawers and wrenched them open until she found a phonebook and she flicked straight through to the 'W' section. She placed her finger on the page and scrolled down, glancing over the names until John Winchester stared up at her. "Got 'em," she whispered and she tore the page out with the address on it.

She dropped the book and winced at the heavy thud it made in the drawer that drew a hiss out of Cas. She stepped carefully over to the bed and bent over it, looking over Cas worriedly. "You're going to be okay right?"

"Go," he grumbled.

She patted his arm and gave it a short squeeze, "Be right back, Cas." She stepped out of the motel room, closing the door behind her and stared around her at the half full parking lot. "I have no idea where I am," she whispered with a sigh.

* * *

**A/N:**

**bjq:** Thank you!

**Lexi: **Hahaha! I really do love reading your comments. We all want a Dean!


	76. 1978 June

**A/N:** Here's part two of _The Song Remains The Same_. As always, I hope you guys enjoy and do let me know what you think!

* * *

1978 – June

_Kansas – Lawrence_

Dean grunted as he was thrown through the air and slammed against a wall. He felt his head bounce and he fell to the floor in a heap. His head felt heavy and he managed to shove a hand underneath him to slowly push himself up. He flicked his eyes up to watch his Mom, Mary, twirl the angel blade in her hand and take a swing at Anna. He looked over at Sam and watched him rush through with the sigil and he murmured, "Come on, Sam."

There was the sound of somebody crashing he looked away to see Mary thrown against the parked car in the garage. Dean pushed his hands underneath him and stood up before he felt something throw him back again and he fell against the floor with a hiss. "Sam!" When he looked back up he froze, his eyes fixed on Sam. Remiel had a hold of him, one hand around his throat, and was slowly lifting him off of his feet. "Matthew?!"

Mary stood up and backed up and Dean started to pull himself up before he watched Charlotte swing a tyre iron from behind Remiel and strike him across the face. Dean winced from the sound it made and watched as Sam was dropped and Remiel turned to face Charlotte with a dark glare. "Hey," she said with a wary smirk, "long time no see."

Sam was thrown back against another wall and Dean looked up to see Anna glaring at his brother. This was not going to plan and he searched the floor for the angel blade. There was another crash and Dean looked up to see John being tossed over the car towards Mary and he panicked. This was going seriously wrong. He glanced at the banishing sigil Sam was part way through, and had almost finished and he glanced over at his brother. With a small nod that was reciprocated, he straightened up and made a line straight for Anna, trying not to watch what he was knew was Charlotte taking another swing at Remiel.

Anna turned to face Dean and he managed to take a swing, forcing Anna to look away from him. He paused and flicked his eyes over her shoulder to watch Sam scramble to his feet and hurry towards the sigil. Anna turned back to Dean with a glare and said, "I really had hoped you wouldn't cause this much trouble." She punched him straight in the nose and Dean's head snapped back before he felt a hand on his chest and he was thrown back again. There was a bright light and Dean lifted a hand up until he could feel his eyes stop burning. He blinked them open and looked up to see Sam's hand flat against the sigil and Charlotte slumped against a wall. He scrambled to his feet and turned to look at Mary and John and loudly said, "Everyone okay?"

Mary nodded her head, her arms wrapped around John's shoulders. "We're fine."

Dean looked over at Sam who nodded and wrapped a rag around his hand, "I'm good." He flicked his eyes to Charlotte and Dean followed his gaze with raised brows.

Charlotte held a hand to her head and slowly lifted it, her eyes glancing between Dean and Sam with a small frown. "What?"

"How'd you get here?" Dean asked.

Charlotte shrugged, "I ran?"

"To 1978?" Sam said with a small snort.

Charlotte scoffed and straightened up, rubbing the heel of her palm against her temple, "Gabriel."

Dean did a mental count of his injuries before he licked his lips and nodded his head to the door. "We should leave, before they come back."

* * *

Charlotte looked around the Campbell house with an appreciative nod. It was definitely a Hunter's home. She listened to Mary talk on about what weapons they had and Sam telling how the salt rounds wouldn't do anything. She turned and stopped, coming face to face with Dean and she let out a small smile. "Hey."

He nodded his head once and smiled tightly back, "Hey." He frowned and glanced behind him before he took a step to the side, away from the door, pulling her with him. In a low voice he almost hissed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Charlotte shrugged and waved towards the door, "Sam gave Nat the "if I never see you again" speech and when neither of you answer your fucking phones-?"

Dean opened his mouth before he sighed and shrugged, "Alright, fine! I get it! But," he let out another sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"What?" Charlotte mumbled, "Was I supposed to just let you guys run off doing God knows what? For all I knew, for all anybody knew, you were running head first to Lucifer with some stupid deal and what? We're supposed to just let you?"

"We know what we're doing!"

"Yeah! And when you guys run off without a word everybody assumes I'm your damn babysitter!"

Dean stared back at her, feeling his blood beginning to boil. He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head as he took a deep breath before he flicked his eyes open and stared at her. "Nobody asked you to be our babysitter."

Charlotte let out a deep breath and lowered her own voice as she said, "Well, somebody has to keep an eye on you idiots." She let out a groan and held a hand to her head.

Dean sighed and felt his energy start to drain out of him, "Look, we'll sort this out, deal with Anna and then we'll, we'll go home."

Charlotte nodded and took a seat on the couch. "Yeah." After a moment she frowned and looked back up at him, "What is she doing anyway?"

Dean sighed and took a seat next to her with his own shrug, "She figures that if we're never born, the apocalypse can never start."

She nodded her head and said, "Can't blame her for thinking that."

He nodded and said, "Yeah, but what the hell is Matthew doing here?"

Charlotte looked up to meet Dean's worried frown with her own and looked away as she shook her head. "I don't know. He doesn't know who I am anymore, and, I don't know. Anna's done something to him."

Dean raised his brows. "You sure about that?"

She looked back up at him with a heavy nod. "Yep. I can get him working with her to get his grace back, I get it. Good for him, but now he doesn't remember me? When he's spent a lot of his time trying to protect me?"

He sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah, that doesn't make any sense." He nodded his head again and patted her knee, "We'll add that to the list of shit we need to sort."

Charlotte snorted and leaned her head on his shoulder, "How big is this list again?"

Dean chuckled and kissed the top of her head, "Pretty big."

Charlotte nodded her head and closed her eyes. Her head felt heavy. She still hadn't recovered fully from the Djinn and she slowly cracked her eyes open with a heavy sigh. "Do you think we'll ever deal with everything?"

Dean ground his teeth together, the muscles in his jaw working before he nodded once. "Yeah. But for now, we have to deal with Anna. And Matthew."

Charlotte sat up and nodded once too, "Alright. Let's, figure something out."

* * *

**A/N:**

**bjq: **Thank you so much for the compliment! I hope you keep enjoying the story


	77. 1978 June part 2

**A/N:** Hey guys! It's great to see so many people following along to this story. Let me know what you think? Enjoy.

* * *

1978 – June

Part 2

_Kansas – Lawrence_

Charlotte stepped back from the wall as she wrapped a bandage around her hand. Anna wanted to kill Sam and Dean's parents before they were born. Remiel was with them. They were in 1978. Cas was comatose and she had no idea how they were going to fix this. Mary and John's life would change. She frowned at that thought as she stared at the sigil she'd finished painting with her blood. Would them coming back and interfering mean that Mary wouldn't die? Or that maybe John would be a wiser hunter? Were they completely changing history already just by being here?

She felt somebody watching her and snapped her eyes away from the wall to see Mary staring at her curiously. Charlotte swallowed nervously and pressed her thumb against the bandages wrapped around her hand. "Hey," she said.

Mary gave her a small smile and said, "Charlotte Dixon. I feel like I've heard that name before."

Charlotte raised her brows and turned to face Mary with a shrug, "What? Dixon?"

Mary nodded with a hum. "Yeah, erm, I think it was Geoffrey maybe?"

Charlotte pursed her lips together. "I couldn't tell you." She knew almost nothing about her family, except maybe that she had some distant aunt who her Dad hadn't heard from in a while. Other than that, she didn't really know. She shrugged and glanced over Mary's shoulder before she glanced back at Mary with an awkward smile.

Mary sighed and took another step into the room, "Sam and Dean explained to me, about the- the future, two thousand and ten? I didn't believe it at first, but-" she shrugged and leaned against the nearest wall.

Charlotte nodded her head, "Yeah, it's- it's a lot to take in."

Mary hummed in agreement with a small nod and she slowly looked up to stare at Charlotte, "What was John like?"

Charlotte frowned and tilted her head to one side, "Erm, what?"

Mary sighed and nodded her head to the door, "Dean he, he let it slip about, nineteen eighty three was it? I mean, I just, I want to know, what he's going to be like. What they're going to be like?"

Charlotte's heart twisted slightly. She would give anything for her own Mother to have known her now, to know that she'd found a family and had grown up reasonably happy, considering the circumstances. She licked her lips and started a few times before she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans and said, "Erm, John, he was determined. Strong minded, hard headed, but very determined." She stopped there and bit the inside of her cheek. Mary didn't need to know the rest, about Sam being pushed away, about Dean feeling trapped. She smiled and let out a small shrug, "Sam he, he's got such a big heart. Poor kid's too good for this life, seriously, he went to Stanford, passed his SAT's. Smart, really smart." She couldn't stop the proud smile that grew on her face and she watched Mary's face light up itself. "Dean, he's, selfless. Tries to be the knight in armour for everyone. Huge heart. Doesn't give himself enough credit, he's smart in his own ways too, not books smart like lawyer smart, but smart. He would do anything for Sam, well, for anyone really."

Mary's smile warmed and she ducked her head as she glanced back towards the door. She laid a hand on her stomach and slowly lifted her eyes back up to meet Charlotte's with a warm smile stuck on her face. "You marry Dean."

There was a small smirk to Mary's lips and the statement made Charlotte look away shyly before she shrugged again. "Yeah, I- I did- I do." There was a small smile to her own lips and she felt the awkwardness turn into a blush on her cheeks. Never did she imagine she'd be talking to Dean's Mother about anything, never mind marrying him.

Mary gave her a grin and looked over Charlotte before she took a seat on the edge of a couch. "Sam told when I asked who you were. He also told me you two aren't the conventional type?" There was a worried, wry smile to her face and Charlotte felt her cheeks heat up a little more.

"I- I guess we're- we're not." She shrugged again, feeling herself shrink under Mary's gaze, "I won't go into details."

"Please don't."

Charlotte let out a small chuckle and glanced down at her hand. Red was still seeping through the bandages and she slowly looked back. Mary Winchester looked great, no wonder both of her sons turned out hot. Her eyes widened at the thought that just crossed her mind and she gulped nervously. Did she just think that about their Mom?

She was saved from any further embarrassment when Dean walked in, an Angel blade in hand. "Hey," he started, coming to stop next to his Mother, "we've got holy oil set up in the kitchen, bottom of the stairs, dining room. There's a sigil in every room. Sam, you and John are going to cover the back whilst Mary and me cover the front of the house."

Charlotte slowly looked up from Mary's face and raised her brows with a hum. "Hmm? What?"

Dean sighed and held a hand up, "Did you listen to anything I just said?"

Charlotte pursed her lips and shrugged with an innocent smile, "I shut off when you started talking."

Dean rolled his eyes and threw an Angel blade at her, "Bitch."

"Hey!" Mary shouted.

Charlotte grinned and caught the blade before her smile fell and she looked up at Dean, "Hey, erm, just, let Sam know to try not to stab or kill Remiel?"

Mary looked back at her with furrowed brows. "Remiel? Wasn't he... the other Angel that tried to kill us?"

Charlotte glanced at Dean and mirrored his raised brow expression. "You tell her," they said at the same time.

"He's your Dad."

"She's your Mom."

"Wait," Mary said, a finger raised in Charlotte's direction, "Remiel is... your... Father?"

Charlotte flicked her eyes to Dean before she shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she opened and closed her mouth. She settled on a shrug and sheepish smile. "Yep, biologically."

The confusion was obvious in Mary's face as she looked from Dean and back to her for some sort of explanation. "How- how is that-"

"Well," Charlotte started, giving Dean a glare in hopes that he would help her out with this conversation, "Angels can, do it, with humans."

"Right," Dean added with a tiny nod, "it's just, just not common."

"Or wanted. Kinda like the worst law one can break for them."

"That too," Dean supplied.

Mary still bounced her gaze from one to the other and back before she fixed her gaze on Charlotte and said, "So you're- you're _half Angel_?"

Charlotte nodded again as she tapped her thumb against the Angel blade. "Yep."

"Whoa," Mary let out in a breath.

"Yeah, trust me, it's not that great a thing."

"Tell me about it," Dean mumbled.

Charlotte opened her mouth to say something, but Sam coming into the room stopped her and she looked over Mary and Dean's shoulders to stare at the wide eyed brother. "We've got a problem," he started, "all of the sigils, their gone."

"What?" Charlotte mumbled and she straightened up and turned to see that the sigil she'd just drawn was gone too. "Crap," she whispered. There was a sudden loud pitched scream and the lights flickered before the bulbs shattered. The windows broke and everybody ducked, their hands over their ears. Once it was finished Charlotte looked up to see that Anna was blocking an exit off. Remiel stood at another and there was a third Angel. "Who the hell are you?"

"Uriel," he said simply, blade in hand.

"Oh, come on," Dean grumbled.

"Go," Sam said. He lunged for Anna whilst Dean lunged for Uriel.

Charlotte took a few steps towards Remiel, her hands palm up, facing him. "Hey Matt, remember me?"

"No," he said, a deep frown on his face. There was the sound of something hitting something and Charlotte glanced over her shoulder to see Dean and Sam get thrown across the room. She looked back up to see Remiel stood right in front of her. "Get out of the way."

She swallowed and shook her head. She could feel his full power behind him and she straightened her shoulders, "You have got to remember Helen and Peter." He grabbed her by the throat and started to lift her up. She dropped the Angel blade and could hear Dean shouting for Sam, but she was too focused on trying to pull the hand away from her throat. "Dad," she groaned breathlessly, "come on!" His fingers tightened and she kicked helplessly as he held her at arms length away from her.

"Sam!"

She heard Dean, but she couldn't see him and she finally felt that familiar shift of energy inside of her. She kicked at Remiel's ribs and he dropped her. Without waiting she rushed forward and pressed him against the wall, using every ounce of strength she could muster and growled, "2007, Dean Winchester and a Djinn. You killed the Djinn. Few months before that you rid Sam of a demon before he killed Dean and Bobby."

Remiel's brows furrowed and she felt him stop resisting her as much. "I- why would I help them?"

"2008 you made a trip to Sioux Falls General. Met Lilith and Crowley in the morgue."

"I- I remember," he mumbled.

"Yes," she mumbled, "fucking, you were trying to help me! Do you remember Azrael? He tortures souls for a living. He tortured me! You gotta remember that!"

There was a bright light and Charlotte frowned and peered over her shoulder. Remiel pushed her hands away and she took a step back, her eyes flicking back to him with a deep frown. He studied her, watched her and looked slowly around the room. He shook his head and a held a hand to it, "I don't understand," he mumbled with a slight hiss.

"You and me both," Charlotte whispered.

There was a scream and Charlotte jumped, turning to watch Anna burst into flames. She held a hand up, shielding her eyes. Once the light disappeared she stared, wide eyed, at John Winchester, only it wasn't John. "Michael?" she whispered, the name jumping into her mind.

There was the sound of fluttering wings and Charlotte spun to see nothing but empty air behind her and she sighed before she turned back to face the new situation. Mary took a step back away from John and said, "What did you do to John?"

"John is fine," Michael said, a calm smile across his lips.

"Who- what are you?" Mary asked.

"Michael," Charlotte mumbled.

He locked his eyes on her with a slight glare and tilted his head to one side. He raised a hand and pressed two fingers to Mary's head. She fell unconscious and Charlotte started to wish that she hadn't dropped the Angel blade. He turned to her and narrowed his eyes, "You're lucky I don't want to smite you." He clicked his fingers and she blinked at the sudden change in the room.

She was in some motel room and she had to turn the TV on and flick through the channels to assure herself that it was two thousand and ten. She groaned and sat down on the edge of the bed, unable to do anything. Her phone buzzed and she frowned, pulled it out of her pocket and stared at the six messages from Natalie, four missed calls and the missed calls from Bobby. She sent them both the same message, that she would explain everything at some point and sighed, running a hand through her hair. Michael, in the same room as John and Dean Winchester.

It felt like forever before there was a sound and Charlotte jumped, spotting Sam sprawled out on the bed. "Sam?"

He took a breath and snapped his eyes open. He patted his hands across his chest and stomach as he sat up, finally looking up at Charlotte. "Charlotte?"

"Where's Dean?"

There was another rustle and they both turned to see Dean staring at the window. Sam was the first to speak, "What happened?"

Dean slowly turned to face them and let out a sigh. "Michael, he, he got into John. Killed Anna, fixed you and put us back here." Charlotte frowned at him and could see that there was something else there, something that he wasn't saying and narrowed her eyes at Dean. He glanced at her once before he worked on avoiding her gaze. "Says that I'm going to say yes."

Sam snorted and stood up, "I need a drink."

"Me too," Dean mumbled. "Be right back."

* * *

Charlotte had spent the next ten minutes messaging Nat and Bobby, telling them that they were all safe and they had nothing to worry about it. Neither of them would buy it but she didn't care, it was all she was giving them for now. She hovered over Matthew's name in her phone and had sent him a quick text, asking him what was going on. She didn't expect anything, but hell she could hope.

Dean had come back with some plastic cups and a bottle of whiskey. Charlotte watched as Dean tossed the cups to Sam who started to unwrap them from their seal. She glanced over at Dean and raised a brow when he finally caught her attention. He shrugged and looked away again. She let out a small sigh when something heavy fell on her. She took a step back, her hands coming up to grab the arms of somebody and when she pushed them back enough to get a good look at their face she stared. "Cas?"

Dean tossed the bottle to Sam and helped Charlotte to steady a shaky Cas on his feet. His nose started to bleed and she winced, "Jeez."

"You son of a bitch," Dean muttered, grabbing one arm around his shoulder whilst Charlotte grabbed the other, "You actually made it."

Cas swung his head to look at Dean, his eyes bleary and slurred, "I- I did? I'm very surprised."

His head dropped and both Dean and Charlotte grunted at the sudden extra weight. "You got him?" Dean asked.

"Yep," she said, "bed."

"Got it."

They managed to get him to the bed and laid him down. Charlotte tilted her head and grabbed some tissue from the bathroom to wipe his nose. She could hear Dean pouring them a few drinks and accepted the offered drink as she tossed the bloodied tissue into the bin.

"Well," Dean said, "this is it."

Charlotte frowned and looked away from Cas to Dean, "This is what?"

"Team Free Will. One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, one half breed and Mr Comatose over there. It's awesome."

"It's not funny," Sam said.

"I'm not laughing," Dean pointed out.

Charlotte sighed and took a sip of her drink. She couldn't agree more.

* * *

**A/N: **

**bjq: **I hope this chapter got better for you. *hint* there's going to be some interesting information.

**GrayBlueEyedBelle: **For some reason, I didn't know you were reading (or _Kiddy Corral _as ff didn't tell me) this until I went to click the reviews button. Wow! It is great to read your comments, like I'm giddy. Sam has to deal with a lot of shit from Charlotte and Dean and does deserve to get some himself. I won't tell anybody about your tears, I promise.

I love Natalie and Charlotte. They have the best kind of friendship. Suspicions are justified. The question about the miscarriage, I've had that a couple of times, but it was 100% definitely Dean's. There's a point either in _Kiddy Corral _or early _The Kids Aren't Alright _where both Dean and Charlotte start swearing off other people and don't get it on with anybody else.

I decided not to included Lisa because for the timeline that he would've originally gone to Lisa, he was with Charlotte so it never kinda came into play. I'll reply to your future comments in the next chapter.

Also, a big thank you for your comments on _Kiddy Corral_. I did read them. All of them. Thank you so much!

**Thaovy203:** You should definitely sleep. Definitely. (maybe just one more chapter? Am I right?) I hope you're ready for more tears. Again, for some reason ff didn't tell me you had reviewed this story or _Kiddy Corral_. Thank you so much for all of the comments and notes they make me smile!

**Emiley Gronhoff:** You didn't? That's amazing and warming! I'm glad you've enjoyed this story, and I don't want to wait to upload the next chapter. Alas, life calls and I must work. I don't want to give too much away about Charlotte and Dean's future simply because I know how this story will end (at least part 2 and 3). So if I were to say something, it would kinda ruin it I would feel. All I can say is that both Charlotte and Dean would love nothing more than to settle down with a normal life, they just haven't found the right time for it.

I will work on the one shot AU of Charlotte and Dean having a baby. Trust me. I have it written down. I hope you'll keep reading this story as it goes! Thank you so much!


	78. 2010 February part 2

**A/N: **Guys, whose idea was it to follow the series? There is so much good stuff in season 5. So much! Anyway, as promised, here's another chapter. Let me know what you think and as always, enjoy!

Also, this fic, this story, _The Kids Aren't Alright_ is TWO years old. TWO! Wow! Thank you guys for an amazing two years. If you want anything special, let me know and I will provide!

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2010 – February

Part 2

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte snored lightly, the blankets scrunched up around her waist and one arm draped over the side of the bed. It was the first decent night's sleep she'd had since the storms had passed through town and she took advantage of quiet air and the warmth of her bed. The images of Hell were still stuck in her mind, playing on repeat, but there was a big part of her that gave in trying to fight the dreams and just watched them curiously.

Until she smelt something that didn't belong.

She scrunched her brows up and murmured quietly before she turned under the sheets slightly. She frowned and rolled onto her back, throwing one arm over her head across the pillow and twisted her head away from the door. The smell wouldn't go away and she frowned a little more until it work her up and she turned her head to stare at the door to her room. It smelt good, but Bobby didn't cook. At least, not without the stench of burnt food.

Charlotte groaned and rubbed her face with her hands until she could crack them open without the temptation to fall asleep again. A quick check of her phone told her that it was ten in the morning and she silently cheered. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept past eight thirty.

The smell of warm breakfast made her lift her head towards her door and she climbed out of bed with a stretch. She grabbed some pants, pulled them on and stepped out into the hallway. Was somebody humming? And there was a murmur of voices, Bobby's and somebody else's. Charlotte raised a brow and headed to the bathroom to take care of business. As she washed her hands she eyed her reflection and the small line of yellow bruising around her neck. She lifted a hand up to her neck and lightly pressed against the bruises with a tiny hiss. "Always the neck," she mumbled before she sighed and dried her hands.

She started towards the stairs, wondering if Jo had come back. She'd been going on a lot of low key hunts, stuff that was easy to deal with and always after Bobby gave her the green light. As much as she loved to stomp her feet and yell about unfairness, Jo at least listened to somebody, which was a feat in it itself.

With every step she took, the smell of baking goods got stronger and Charlotte could feel her stomach growling as she hit the bottom step and glanced back towards the kitchen. Bobby was chatting away to somebody, a woman, and initially, Charlotte raised a brow with a smirk as she padded her way over. She didn't want to seem like she was eavesdropping, but Charlotte couldn't stop herself from stopping a few feet away, hold her breath and just listen. Bobby sounded, happy, almost.

"You done snoopin' yet?"

Charlotte straightened up, the smile gone from her face and she heard a woman giggle. She felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as she slinked forward and slowly opened the doors to the kitchen. "Morning, Bobby," she mumbled and she finally got a chance to look at this surprise woman. She opened her mouth and mumbled, "Hey," which trailed off into a small frown as she took in the pale complexion and clammy, really clammy looking skin. In fact, the woman looked far from alive and Charlotte couldn't help but to stare at her.

"It's rude to stare," Bobby chided.

Charlotte flicked her eyes over to Bobby, her frown never leaving her face and she slowly flicked them back over to this mystery woman who swatted Bobby's shoulder playfully, "Oh hush, Bobby." She dropped the dough ball she'd been kneading and wiped her flour covered hands on the apron tied around her waist before she turned to Charlotte with a wide smile, "Hey there, I'm Karen, you must be Charlotte."

"Y-yeah," Charlotte mumbled as she hesitated to take her hand. She glanced back at Bobby, looking for some explanation to the woman's dead like appearance. "Bobby didn't mention anything about having girlfriends over," she started, a slight glare in Bobby's direction.

Karen chuckled and stepped back over to the table she'd been working at. "Well, I'm not his girlfriend."

"She's my wife," Bobby said.

Charlotte froze and stared at Bobby with a deep frown. Wife? Bobby didn't have a wife. The only wife she knew about was the one that had died years ago called... Karen. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, pointing a finger at Bobby, "Wife? As in Karen Singer your first wife _wife_?"

"The one," Bobby said, small, awkward smile still on his face.

Her mouth fell open at the blatent normality that Bobby seemed to be treating this with and she turned to stare at Karen's back before she looked back at Bobby. After a moment she pursed her lips, words on the tip of tongue, but nothing came out. "Wife," Charlotte repeated and she blinked, screwed her eyes up and let out a heavy sigh as she shook her head. "I need a drink."

"I'll make you a coffee," Karen insisted.

"Better add some whiskey to that, I feel like I'm going to need it."

Karen let out a small tut, "I thought Bobby would've been a better influence on you."

"Hey," Bobby said, "it's not my fault."

Karen eyed him with a disappointed look and a raised brow. "Well who else was she going to learn it from?"

A minute later Charlotte was handed a cup of coffee in a cup and on a saucer that she hadn't seen in Bobby's house in forever. "Thanks," she mumbled quietly before she turned and made her way to Bobby's study. She sat down on the couch and stared at her cup, pulling a face at the cup and saucer before she set it down on the side and stood up.

Bobby stepped into the room and Charlotte glanced over his shoulder as he held his hands up and said, "I can explain."

Once she was certain Karen couldn't hear them Charlotte turned to Bobby and in an angry whisper said, "Explain what? That your dead wife is in your kitchen making you milk and cookies and that it's normal?"

"It ain't normal!"

"So why is she still-"

"She's my wife!" Charlotte reeled back at that comment, at the anger in Bobby's face and words and she took a small step back. He sighed and dropped his arms to his side. "I don't know. Last night she came knocking at the door, and, there she was. I did the tests, salt, silver, holy water. Nothing worked."

Charlotte gave the kitchen another glance before she mumbled, "So you're letting her play housewife?"

"She hasn't hurt us, and she- she doesn't remember, anything."

Charlotte frowned, "Remember what?"

Bobby opened his mouth before he took a deep breath and said, "About, about the demon that possessed her, about me killing her, and- and her coming back. She doesn't remember any of it."

Charlotte sighed. Never had she seen Bobby so certain of something in her life, so convinced, and he was a trained hunter since his wife had gotten possessed and died the first time. She ran a hand over her face and threw her hands up, "Well, maybe it's linked to the electrical storm we just had." She sat back down and shook her head, she'd just about recovered from the Djinn and now there was zombies on their door step. "I'm going to look into it."

"You do that," Bobby said, "and I'll keep an eye on her."

Charlotte waved him off and looked away with a shake of her head. She hadn't been awake long enough for this to make sense, for her brain to catch up with what she was hearing and seeing. She looked back at the coffee on the side and pulled a face at the idea of drinking it before she grabbed the cup and took a sip. She needed caffeine...and the coffee wasn't bad.

* * *

She'd decided to visit the cemetery first and had spent a while, walking between the headstones before she came across a plaque that had been made out to:

_Karen Singer. _

_A loving wife and daughter._

Charlotte sighed. Karen had been cremated, which explained why she didn't have a tombstone like everybody else. She'd hoped that there had been some sort of sign of what had happened here, but there was nothing. Charlotte made a three feet circle around the plaque before she gave up and started to head out.

It was by chance that she glanced at some of the other graves and she stopped, frowning at one that looked like the dirt had been recently disturbed. She walked over to it and read the name on it: _Clay Thompson._ She toed at the dirt and glanced around to see if there was anybody else around. That was when she spotted another grave, a few yards down, with the same disturbed dirt.

She decided to do a sweep of the entire cemetery and she walked between rows of graves, eyes looking for the same disturbed dirt. About fifteen graves had it and she stopped once she reached the end, eyes scanning the general area. Fifteen graves. Did that mean fifteen bodies? Fifteen _zombies_ walking around Sioux Falls? She needed to dig one of them up to get an idea, but she couldn't do it in the middle of the day and she groaned as she left. "The fuck is going on," she mumbled to herself as she climbed into her car.

Her phone buzzed and she opened it to see a message from Bobby with a list of things he needed for the house. _Karen wants to make us a meal_. She'd stared at her phone for a whole minute before she slowly typed a reply to him that simply said_: Sure_. Something was going on and until she knew what she was just going to go with it.

* * *

There was a tap on Charlotte's shoulder and she turned to come face to face with Sheriff Jody Mills. "Sheriff," she uttered.

"Charlotte, you've erm, been staring at the tomatoes for a long time. Everything okay?"

Charlotte opened her mouth. Whilst she hadn't had many run ins with the Sheriff, most of them with her yelling at Bobby for being the town drunk and committing mail fraud, she generally left them alone and was on alright terms with them. If you count ready to throw Bobby into jail and herself not far behind him alright, then they were peachy. But everybody in town knew that she had a big heart. "Yeah," she lied with a tight smile, "I'm good."

Jody was not convinced, "You want to try that one again?"

Charlotte smiled wider and shook her head as she grabbed a couple of tomatoes, "Nah, I'm good."

"Mommy! You're taking forever!"

Jody sighed with a warm smile on her face, "Kids." Charlotte's smile faltered and she looked over Jody's shoulder to the kid that was calling out to her. He had the same complexion as Karen and Charlotte's smile completely fell from her face. "I'm coming Owen!" Jody turned back to face Charlotte and took a step back, "Duty calls."

Either the town had gone crazy or were trying to drive Charlotte crazy. She was sure, almost a hundred percent positive, that Jody and her husband had lost their kid a few years back. In such a small town like this, even her and Bobby had gotten that news. "The hell?" she whispered.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sebby-Lover00: **I am so happy you picked up on the fact that I was trying to make her a female Dean. That was really all I wanted to do when I started _Kiddy Corral_ and now we're here. Also, I love Thursday's too. They're great.

Charlotte and Dean wouldn't plan on kids, it'd be a pure accident. In terms of settling down if they had a kid, they'd find it difficult to switch off and more than likely would probably be in and out of Bobby's hunting whilst letting the kid make a home there. (hint hint towards a story I'm working on)

Seriously, never worry about reviewing, I just love to write this story knowing that so many people are reading it and enjoying it.

**Thaovy203: **_Childish Hope _is a side story, meant to be set in an AU of end!verse that actually happened. I haven't done anything on it in a while, I'm guilty of lacking anything for that, but I do want to write it and I do want to publish the side story. There's not enough time in the day! Also, 2 weeks? That's some dedication. Thank you so much!

**Lexi:** Education is important. Do not worry. (I think we ended up with Deanlotte.) Dr Sexy MD is getting more and more fans. (thanks Dean). I had so much fun with this chapter.

Momma Winchester. I had like three different scenarios/conversations that I was flipping between to try to get that scene right. And Sam is a traitor, yes. And you have no idea how long I have waited for the Team Free Will line. For like, a year, or two. Maybe three. It's been a long time. Also, I was waiting for somebody to pick up on Mary recognising 'Dixon'. It shall be revealed, at some point.

What would their kid look like? Erm, I'd have to say that it would have Dean's dirty blond/brown hair and green eyes but it'd look like Charlotte a little more.

Amara. Hahaha, I have plans. Lots of plans.

I am planning that AU. I promise. I just, think it might be a few small one shots. Maybe. As I said, still working on it. As always, thank you, so much. You make me smile each time I read your words. Every time.

**GrayBlueEyedBelle: **Thank you for binge reading this series! Part of the "what if" universe was what if she was just human, not angel. So what if Peter was her biological Dad and not Remiel/Matthew.

I will not tell you what happens at the end of this story. I can't spoil it now. But it's not what you're thinking. And yeah, season 12, with Mary, and Charlotte and Dean having the sex drive of a couple of horny teenagers, it's going to get awkward, real fast.


	79. 2010 February part 3

**A/N: **Just to let you know, I'm like 89% better. Thank you all for your kind words! I love each and every one of you! Anyway, what you really came here for, the chapter that should've been posted Thursday and I promised for today. Enjoy.

* * *

2010 – February

Part 3

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte frowned as she listened to the conversations going on around town. There were a few talking about their loved ones being back or a friend or brother. As Charlotte waited for the queue to be served she glanced at the papers near to the checkouts and frowned at the headline: _Benny Sutton gets what he deserves?_

She picked up the paper and added it to her groceries, making sure to pack it on top of everything before she left. Once she was in her car she grabbed the paper and scanned through the article: _Benny Sutton killed... found in his own trailer... very few will be upset... payback?... _Charlotte frowned and put the paper down. She remembered a thing from five years ago, Benny Sutton had been on a 'hunting trip' with some other guy who never made it back due to a 'hunting accident'.

"Clay Thompson," she whispered. That had been the guy who hadn't made it back from that hunting trip, and his grave had been messed with. She shoved the paper into the passenger seat and pulled out of the parking lot. She took a diversion on the way home, deciding to slow her car on the street she was the Thompson's lived on and finally stopped outside of their house. She turned the engine off and stared at the downstairs window, trying to see if there was any movement inside.

The front door opened and Mrs Thompson stepped out, her son by her side. Clay Thompson stood in the doorway, waving them off as he kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Three dead bodies for three," Charlotte whispered and she watched the scene a little more, until Clay closed the door behind him, before she turned the engine back on and made her way home. "Okay," she muttered to herself as she drove, "people coming back from the grave. Loved ones. In _Sioux Falls_. Why? What's here?" She came to a stop at a red light and leaned back in her seat as she tapped her finger against the steering wheel. "Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls. There's nothing in Sioux Falls." She shook her head and put her car into drive again. _There's nothing here, no reason for anything weird to happen, no reason for monsters or- _"Bobby. _He's _here." If there was one thing that would make anything worry in Sioux Falls, it was Bobby.

"That's not good," she mumbled and she challenged the speed limit as she made her way home. She hurried inside and dumped the stuff on the counter and when she looked up Karen was stood in the doorway, staring at her.

Karen smiled up at her with a worried frown, "Is everything okay, Charlotte?"

Charlotte glanced over Karen's shoulder, wondering if Bobby was still okay. She flicked her eyes back over to Karen and nodded her head with a tight smile, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Karen's smile turned into a small smirk as she walked over to Charlotte and started to unpack the bags. "I haven't hurt him. You know that I love him right?"

Charlotte swallowed nervously and took a step back as she slowly nodded her head, "Yeah, I, I get it."

"Do you?" Charlotte frowned, her lips pursed, and waited for Karen to carry on. "I know he's like a father to you, but I loved him, with all my heart, until I died. I don't know why I'm back, but all I know is that I _still _love him and nothing will change that."

Charlotte nodded her head once and watched as Karen started to sort the groceries on the table into some sort of order. "I don't doubt that," she mumbled, "but you can understand why this is a little strange for me."

Karen's smile never faltered as she nodded her head, "Of course, it's strange for all of us. But all I'm asking, is that you give me a chance. If I really wanted to hurt him I would've by now." Charlotte tipped her head with a small nod in agreement. "Have you ever been in love?"

Charlotte lifted her head to glance at Karen with a small frown, "What?"

"Have you ever been in love? So in love that no matter what they did, how much they might hurt you, you still love them?"

Charlotte couldn't look away from Karen's pleading eyes and found herself ducking her head and focusing on anything but Karen's face. She thumbed a hand over her shoulder and made an awkward attempt to turn away, "I've got- some stuff to do. I'll just- leave you to it." She cleared her throat and managed a small smile as she backed out of the kitchen and made her way to the library. She didn't see Bobby anywhere but she could hear him moving about upstairs and decided to make a start on some research. Dead loved ones raising from their graves, coupled with thunderstorms and she had somewhere to start. She hoped.

Charlotte started running her fingers along the book spines, her eyes flicking over the titles. She balanced seven books in her arms and dropped them onto the desk that Bobby had and started to flick through the pages. As she flicked through the book, she had to stop to analyse a few stories and omens that seemed to fit before she dismissed them to move on to the next one. At some point, Bobby came downstairs and said something to her and she'd waved him off with a mumbled, "Hey." Somebody put some coffee down on the desk next to her and there was a plate of food, but Charlotte was too engrossed in the book to look up and see who it was. She muttered her thanks and ate between pages, her food going colder a lot quicker than she would've liked.

She'd gotten through three books before she felt her eyelids beginning to close. Charlotte had to shake herself awake several times, shifting position to try to keep herself more alert before Bobby appeared and tugged the book from her hands. "I was reading that," she mumbled feebily.

"And now you're marching yourself to bed. Now."

She grumbled and shoved her chair back. "Whatever," she mumbled and she patted his shoulder as she passed on her way to the stairs. "Night!" Charlotte got herself ready for bed and had just pulled the cover over herself when her phone rang. She cursed and rolled over to reach for it, answering it with a low, "What?"

"You in Sioux Falls?" It was Dean.

"Yeah?"

"And did you hear about some guy killed in a locked trailer?"

"Yeah?"

"So you're looking into it?"

"Dean," Charlotte sighed, "I'm on it. Go away."

"Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died?"

She groaned and pressed her head into her pillow. "Dean, I'm tired. It's been a long day. Unless you want something that's actually important, I'm gonna hang up."

She heard Dean's eye roll before he said, "As a matter of fact, me and Sammy were gonna drop by. We could use the down time. Just took down Famine, actually."

Charlotte furrowed her brows and mumbled, "Famine?"

"Yep. Horseman number two in the bag."

Charlotte hummed and rolled back into her bed to curl up with her phone balanced on her cheek hands free. "Congrats, you got a lead on Death?"

Dean sighed and said, "I wish. Also, there's no word on Pestilence. Cas said he can't do anything either."

"How is Cas now? Last time I saw he was comatose to the world."

Dean chuckled and she could hear the nod in his words, "Well, you should've been here. Man ate burgers like we were running out. Guy can put a lot away, a scary lot."

Charlotte chuckled and gently shook her head, "I'm sure there'll be a next time." She yawned and had to grab her phone before it slipped off her cheek. "I'm gonna sleep now."

"Right, well, we'll catch some shut eye. Maybe head off tomorrow afternoon for Sioux Falls."

"Yeah, see you around."

"Night."

* * *

**A/N:**

**bjq: **Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter too. I'm getting there, thanks for that.

**GrayBlueEyedBelle:** Haha, it's fine. I'm sure others have tried to guess throughout. I want everything to be as much of a surprise as possible. I hope you're feeling better! Yeah, for Charlotte, she's pinned everything down to the fact that she has an Angel for a biological Dad.

**Lexi: **Yeah, I'm thinking about making a mini AU with just a series of short one shots. Again, still working on it. Hahaha, it's fine and there's a lot of interesting stuff to come.

You're right, Charlotte has told the boys nothing about her plan with Gabriel. So, yeah, it'll be really interesting sooner or later. And yeah, Dean definitely knows how that feels (and Charlotte too from the conversation in this chapter).

Thanks. I'm mostly better.


	80. 2010 February part 4

**A/N: **It's a very special Thursday, firstly it means another chapter, secondly, it's my birthday and I have enjoyed writing this today for you guys! Don't worry I'm doing other things too. Enjoy! Remember, if you have any questions, feel free to ask away and I'll do my best to answer them.

* * *

2010 – February

Part 4

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Dean flicked his eyes from the kitchen, where Bobby and Karen were, back to Charlotte who was staring with a deep frown at one of the pages in the many books she had stacked around her. "Who-?" he started, pointing over his shoulder.

Sam was as equally confused and Charlotte turned a page, her eyes following the words and not once leaving the page as she said, "Karen. Bobby's dead wife."

"De-dead?" Sam said, "But she's-"

"Yep," Charlotte said, "looks dead, but isn't."

Dean opened and closed his mouth several times, his head flicking between the desk and the doorway. "His _dead wife_ is in the kitchen, baking? And- you're- Bobby-?"

"We know," Charlotte mumbled and she fumbled for a piece of paper on the desk, her eyes still not leaving the book, "About fifteen people raised from the dead a couple of days ago, Sheriff Mill's son included." She held the paper up, waving it a little and Sam snatched it from her hands.

"Why?" Dead asked.

Sam cleared his throat and held a hand up, "So, a bunch of people raised from the dead, went home, and what? Everyone's-"

Charlotte nodded her head, "Playing along? Yeah. It's the norm around here now." She frowned and ran her finger along a line in the book she was reading. "_"And through the fire stood before me a pale horse. And he that sat atop him carried a scythe, and I saw since he had risen, they, too, shall rise, and from him and through him."_"

Dean raised his brows as he stared at her, "Death? Death is behind this? The horseman?"

Sam sighed and pulled a face, "Great, another horseman. But- but why Sioux Falls? Out of all the places to raise the dead, why here?"

Dean glanced from his brother to Charlotte and noticed the slight frown she had as she refused to look up from the book. There was something on her mind. "Char?"

She looked up with a small sigh and leaned back in the chair. Dean could tell that he wasn't going to like the answer, that it would upset him and Sam and everybody when they learned the truth. Charlotte took a breath and shrugged her shoulders before she finally looked up to meet Dean's eyes, "Bobby?" She glanced at Sam and shrugged again, "There's nothing else here. Nobody who has done anything that means anything to _Horsemen_."

The room fell into silence and Dean could hear everybody thinking about what that meant, about the inevitablility of what would happen here. Dean let out a breath and perched himself on a free corner of the desk, flicking his gaze from Sam to Charlotte and back. "You know what we have to do here right?"

"Dean," Charlotte said.

Sam interrupted her, "If Death is behind this, then these things, these people, they can't be good."

"Sam-"

Dean stared at Charlotte with a deep frown, "What? It's true. Death is Death."

Charlotte snapped her eyes to him with a glare, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise you and Death were besties. Do you have his number so I can call him and ask him about all of this?" Dean rolled his eyes and Charlotte scoffed. "You haven't been here! It's wrong, it is, but- but she hasn't done anything. I've spoken to Karen, she's- she seems good."

Dean frowned at her, staring at her as though she'd just declared herself to suddenly be a man. "Did you just hear yourself?"

Charlotte sighed and shook her head, "She loves him. She-" Charlotte hung her head and leaned forward, lowering her voice as she eyed the doorway that led to the kitchen before she started again. "Look, she- she remembers everything. The demon that possessed her, Bobby killing her, coming back. But, through all of that, she doesn't want to hurt him. She wouldn't dream of it."

"And you know that for certain?" Dean chided.

"She _loves_ him, Dean. She made that much certain."

"But-"

"Are you listening to me Dean?" Charlotte jumped to her feet, waving a hand to the door that led to the kitchen where Karen and Bobby were. "She wouldn't dream of doing anything to him! I can you tell that for certain!"

Dean reciprocated her glare, feeling the anger burning from her.

How long they stayed like that, just glaring at each other, he didn't know. It wasn't until Sam cleared his throat that Charlotte looked away, Dean slowly following her lead. "Alright," Sam started, "we can, leave it for now. Let's just, be wary just in case but for now, we won't do anything. Happy?"

"Very," Charlotte mumbled.

"Alright," Sam said, looking between the two of them. "I'll work my way through this list, check on the others that raised from the dead, see if any of them have turned bad." Dean nodded his head. "Just, stay here, don't- don't shoot anyone or kill anyone. As Charlotte said, Karen hasn't done anything-"

"Yet," Dean added.

Sam sighed and nodded his head once, "yes, yet, but until she does, we can't just _kill _Bobby's wife."

Dean had a finger up, "Dead wife."

"Technically you were dead once," Charlotte muttered, "Sam was, I was."

Dean fumbled for words for a moment before he tilted his head from one side to the other, "That's different."

"How?"

"Okay!" Sam said, "Okay, look, we're not killing anyone. We're keeping guns away from anyone, and I'm going to go check the other... _dead not dead _people. Please don't kill each other whilst I'm gone."

"I'm not promising anything," Charlotte muttered as she slowly sat back down in her seat.

Dean scoffed and shook his head, "Whatever."

Sam sighed and held his hands up as he turned away. "I'll be back," he muttered.

Dean threw his keys to Sam and watched him leave, waiting until he heard the roar of the engine from the Impala before he turned his head to Charlotte with a glare, "This is different and you know it."

"I don't care!" Charlotte muttered and she stood up, leaning her hands on the desk. She hung her head for a moment before she sighed and flicked her eyes up to Dean, her voice lower than before, "Just, I believe her!" She took another breath and said, "I've spoken to her, and I believe her. Okay? Can you trust me? I trust _her_. I know, it sounds bizarre, but I do. She sounds so, so confident with herself, honest, and I believe her."

Dean stared at her for a long time before he dropped his gaze and let out a long breath. He held a hand up and took another breath, "Char, it is different. Does she even eat? Sleep? She looks dead, you said it yourself. She doesn't look alive. Do any of them?"

"No," Charlotte let out eventually, "no they don't. I don't know if she sleeps, but-" Charlotte let out yet another breath. "I can't," she said quietly. When she looked back up at him, there was something in her eyes that made Dean lean back slightly, his lips parted. "I can't, do it. It would- it would be like Nat telling me that she was going to kill you cause you came back. I can't."

Dean looked away, getting a sense of where Charlotte was coming from. "Eventually," he started slowly, "_if_ she does go bad, someone will-" he stopped and shook his head.

"I know," Charlotte whispered, "I know. But Bobby will never forgive us if we _do_ do something. It's gotta be him, or he's gotta ask."

Dean met her gaze and let out a breath with a short nod. He reached out and grabbed her hand, "How about, we go find Bobby, see how he's doing."

* * *

"I don't think I've ever been kicked out of there before," Charlotte mumbled.

Dean glanced at Charlotte and shrugged a shoulder, "I've been kicked out of plenty of places before."

Charlotte gave him a look, her arms folded across her chest, "Not out of my home then."

"We've still got the problem that there are more zombies out there, about to turn and start eating their families and friends," Sam said.

Dean glanced at him and pointed back to Bobby's, "And he's alone with one of them. I'll stay here, you two head into town and save everyone."

Charlotte nodded and grabbed the keys Dean held out to them, "Don't let Bobby see you or he'll shoot you."

Sam let out a small chuckle and opened the passenger door, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Dean mumbled.

* * *

Charlotte paced the edges of the room, glancing through the windows and the glass doors with a frown. She'd expected mass panic to start, for the zombies to cause chaos and go crazy against everyone. But they'd managed to gather everybody up in the Police Station and lock the doors with very little problems.

Sam in the mean time, was busy handing shotguns and pistols out to the local people they'd gathered up, "All right, if I hand you a gun and you see a dead person, I don't care if it's your friend, your neighbour, or your wife, you shoot for the head. That's the only way we survive."

One of the men spoke up as he was handed a gun, "You mind telling us who you are?"

Sam cleared his throat and said, "Friend of Bobby Singer's."

"Town drunk," the guy said again.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and stopped at the doors, peering out into the dark night. She'd been counting the minutes since they'd found Jody and since they'd gotten here and locked everybody up. Something was wrong and she ducked her head, trying to think about why everything was quiet.

"No," Sam started to defend Bobby, "I- I thought _he _was the town drunk."

Charlotte glanced over her shoulder to see Sam gesturing to Digger and she smirked with a shake of her head.

"Who told you that?"

"Bobby Singer..." Sam started and Charlotte could feel him glaring daggers at the back of her head, "... Stay sharp. I'll watch the back door."

Charlotte pursed her lips and pushed the door open, stepping out into the road, her pistol held high. She swung it from one side to the other and dropped it to her side with a deep frown. Slowly, she edged towards the middle of the road and stared around her, looking in the shadows for any sign of movement. "Come on," she whispered, "where are you?"

The door to the station opened again and she flicked her eyes up to see Sam staring up at her. "Anything?"

She shook her head, "Nothing." She sagged her shoulders and glanced Jody coming out to join then, talking to Sam and asking him what was going on and where the zombies were. Sam didn't know and told her as much. Charlotte was thinking. Loved ones had come back to life in Sioux Falls to... it was a sign of the Apocalypse, sure, but if they weren't going to attack the town then... what? Why... "Bobby," she said, feeling like an idiot. "They're at Bobby's."

"Crap," Sam said and he hurried to the Impala that was parked a few metres away. "Come on," he called to Jody, Charlotte already following him.

Charlotte jammed the key in the ignition, turned the engine over and made the tyres squeal against the pavement as she swung the car around and put her foot down on the accelerator.

Dean stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he walked over to join Charlotte at her car. She was sat on the hood, her feet on the bumper and her eyes fixed on Sam, Jody and Bobby who were stood, watching the fire from Karen's funeral pyre. There were a few words being said and Dean nudged Charlotte's knee with a raised brow, "You said you wanted to talk."

Charlotte nodded her head and looked down at her lap. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed before she opened her clenched hand, holding it out for him to see two rings. One was War's, the other... "Pestilence," she said with a heavy breath. "_Three _out of four."

Dean stared at the ring before he looked up at her with a small frown, "When did you-"

"December, erm, in Arizona. It was not nice," she mumbled.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Charlotte shrugged and Dean frowned, noting that there was obviously something else on her mind. "Cause, cause I was trying to come up with a plan."

Dean's frown deepened and he slid closer until he could sit on the hood next to her, his leg pressed against hers. "A plan for what?"

She sighed and lifted her head to meet his gaze. There was a tired look in her eyes and she looked back to the three figures that were illuminated by the fire light. "We can't kill Lucifer. We tried it with the Colt and it didn't work. But, we did... _unlock_ him from somewhere... released him from a... cage." She slowly looked back over at him and slowly went on, "There's- there's a way to open the door and kick his ass in, locking him back in the cage."

Dean's frown didn't waver and he parted his lips slightly as he studied her face. "Who told you that?"

"Gabriel."

His eyebrows shot up. "Gabriel? The asshole?"

Charlotte smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah, the asshole. The same asshole who tracked you guys and Cas down to 1978 and threw me back there without a word or warning. That asshole."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would he tell you about it? I mean, everybody else wants in."

Charlotte shook her head slowly, "He doesn't. The last thing he wants to see is his brothers ripping each other apart, a fight to the death over a petty argument over Sunday tea or some shit."

Dean shook his head and fixed his eyes on the fire too. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I knew that if I told Sam, he'd say something about how he would need to do this. He still blames himself for Lucifer walking the Earth and you and I both know he'd do anything to try to fix it. Including running off to face Lucifer alone, with the rings to open the door on his own and die or some stupid shit." She thumped her head onto his shoulder and Dean gently turned his head to glance down at her. "I made you a promise, that Sam wouldn't say 'yes' to Lucifer and that he wouldn't get involved completely in this Apocalypse crap, and I intend to keep that promise. I just, not sure _how_ yet."

Dean nodded his head once and kissed her temple. "You're right, Sam would run off before we knew it. But you should've said something."

"Well," she said, lifting her head to give him a level stare, "I've told you now. Before hunting Death down on my own. Can you promise not to tell Sam, at least not yet?"

Dean sighed and looked away, "Char-"

"He's your brother. I know. But, you and I both know that he will try to plan something that involves him on the front line, risking his life to fix what he did."

Dean studied her face carefully for several long, quiet seconds before he closed his eyes and hung his head. "Fine," he mumbled. He knew that she was right, but he hated the idea of keeping something this big away from Sam, but she was still right. Sam would come up with anything that involved him putting himself in the firing line to pull this off. "Fine," he muttered, "but we tell him eventually."

Charlotte nodded and put her head back onto his shoulder, "Eventually."

He let his cheek rest against her head and mulled this over, watching the fire and the others. Something told him that this was just the beginning of a lot of crap being thrown their way.

* * *

**A/N:**

**bjq: **Thank you! I'm feeling a lot better now - very close to being a hundred percent!

**GrayBlueEyedBelle: **Haha, it's fine. I like hearing people's guesses but as I said, I'll never tell! Glad to hear you're feeling better. Hope you enjoyed this!


	81. 2010 March

**A/N:** Thank you all for the birthday wishes! I had a great time. But what you _actually_ came for, the next chapter. And we're in March now! Enjoy.

Have I told you guys how much I love Charlotte's and Gabriel's friendship? I love it. It's fantastic.

* * *

2010 – March

_Ohio – Cincinnati_

"I thought we _had _something sweetheart! You and me! Why'd you ruin the plan?" Charlotte rolled her eyes and carried on searching the local papers for any extra information and the ghost that was ruining the lives of a family. There home had all the signs of a poltergeist, but she was having trouble finding out exactly who the ghost was and why it was there. "Are you even listening to me right now?"

"You say something?" she mumbled, not once peeling her eyes away from the screen.

There was a huff and she heard something thud against the floor. Charlotte raised a brow and glanced over to see her bag of stuff sprawled across the floor and Gabriel sprawling himself across the single bed in the room. "Humans," he scoffed, "never trust 'em."

"Think of it this way, we get a few more helping hands to come up with a plan that works."

"Sam and Dean Winchester are _not _helping hands. They'd get in the way."

Charlotte sighed and finally gave Gabriel her attention. "You don't like them, I get that, all because your brothers have some kind of hard ons for them whilst you've got nothing. I get it, but get over it, alright? Besides," she turned back in her seat and scanned the page she was on, trying to remember what she was doing, "they were going to find out eventually."

"Doesn't mean you have to spoil the surprise," Gabriel grumbled.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Did you want something? Or are you just going whine and pout?"

"I'm not a child."

"You sure about that?"

"You know, I could smite you right now, where you're sitting and nobody would bat an eye."

Charlotte hummed and nodded her head, "Sure. You do that. I'm going to be over here, working, making sure this family aren't killed."

There was silence and Charlotte took that time to flick through news reports and police files that she'd managed to get into. She ran through the facts in her head, the haunting had started about a week after the family had moved in. Stuff being moved, scratching in the walls, cold spots, the father being tripped up by an invisible hand. The ten year old son had even reported hearing voices whispering to him at night.

She frowned as she looked through the obituaries within the area, nothing quite pointing to that house and she propped an elbow on the table, her chin in her hand, as she flicked through page after page. There was nothing, absolutely nothing and she stopped briefly to rub her hands over her face.

"I'm bored."

Charlotte slowly clasped her hands together and propped her chin on top of them, her head tilted so that she could eye Gabriel with raised brows. "You're like a child. A short attention spanned, annoying child."

Gabriel raised a hand, a finger pointed in the air, "Smiting. Can do. Will do. Stop tempting me."

Charlotte watched him for a moment before she sat back in her seat, one arm slung over the back of it. "You're an Archangel who's been around since, forever, and you're telling me, that after years of pranking punk kids, doing whatever the hell you want, you're bored now? _Now_?"

Gabriel shrugged and eventually sat up, his arms keeping him up on the bed. "There's only so much one man can do."

She raised a brow and nodded her head once. "Uh huh." She stood up and moved over to the bag that Gabriel had shoved onto the floor and picked it up. She dropped it on the bed behind Gabriel and started to root through it, dumping her clothes on the bed and dropping a couple of guns next to the pile. She grabbed the box of ingredients she kept on hand for everyday jobs like this and flipped it open, muddling through it to see if she had everything she needed.

"So what's the plan?"

"My plan," she started, "is to use an age old method of simple purification of the house. Bit of plasterwork will need doing, but I've got no clue on who this ghost is and where or when they were buried."

Gabriel nodded his head slowly and hummed, "Interesting method."

"Age old method," Charlotte mumbled. She started to open small vials and pull out ingredients, setting them aside into a pile. "Are you going to be here when I get back?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On if this town has a nice strip club or not."

Charlotte raised a brow and looked away before she held a hand up and clicked her fingers. She turned and walked over to the nightstand, opening the top drawer. She rooted around through the flyers and she pulled one out, handing it over to him. "There. Now fuck off."

Gabriel hummed as he looked over it and Charlotte did her best to ignore him as she started to put the hex bags together. "Why do you have this?"

She glanced over at him with a smirk and winked. "A girl has her needs."

"Female strippers?"

She shrugged and tied up the first bag, smile still on her face, "Girl. Has. Her. Needs. Gotta switch it up every now and then. Besides, it's just looking. You can't touch 'em."

Gabriel nodded his head and folded the flyer up, slipping it into his pocket. "True, but you can touch the other lookers."

Charlotte shook her head with a soft smile, "If that's what you want to do, sure." She tied the second bag and put that to one side as she worked on the third. "Why are you still here?"

"We're bonding!"

"Bonding?"

"Bonding!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and finished off the last two bags. "Go away. Go find Death. Go drool over strippers. Go do anything, except be here." She stuffed the four hex bags into a gym bag and shoved some salt and a shotgun in there too before she zipped it up and grabbed her keys from the kitchen table. She waved a hand over her shoulder and said, "Don't be here when I get back!"

* * *

Charlotte groaned as she slammed the door to her motel room behind her, letting her body fall against it with a hiss. "I fucking hate pissed off ghosts," she grumbled, one arm wrapped around her waist and her hand pressed tightly against her shoulder. She'd gotten two hex bags in the walls of the house before she'd been thrown across the kitchen, her back smacking the corner of a counter. The cutlery drawer opened and she had had no time to react before the knives came tumbling out, one of them getting stuck just below her shoulder.

"You took your time."

She slowly pried her eyes open with a glare, her head still pressed to the door before she froze at the sound of a couple of giggles. Her glare turned into a frown and she turned to look over at Gabriel, naked from the chest up with two hot girls in bed with him, bras still on and the sheets covering them all up to their waist. She stared at the scene in front of her before she took a deep breath, her shoulder burning with the motion, and shook her head. "Whatever," she muttered and she moved to grab the bottle of whiskey she kept in the fridge. Her bag was back on the floor and she rooted through it until she found the first aid kit she always took with her too.

"Did somebody get a boo boo?"

"Didn't I tell some- ow- body to _not _be here when I- ugh- got back." Charlotte gathered the stuff up, first aid kit tucked between her chest and her arm and whiskey in her other hand. She walked to the bathroom, kicking the door open and set the items down on the side of the sink. She patted her pockets and sighed before she went back out into the main room to see the two chicks stroking their hands down Gabriel's chest. She growled and shook her head as she rooted for a lighter and some pain killers. "Take your girls, and get out."

"I know you're hurt, but don't take it out on them," he argued with a grin. "I mean, look at them. Could you really turn these two beauties out to the world?"

Charlotte glared up at him and looked from one woman to the next. "Get dressed, and get out."

The girls pouted and Gabriel sighed before he mumbled, "Time to go." He clicked his fingers and the two girls disappeared.

Charlotte frowned deeply and closed her eyes. "I- I don't want to know." She went back to the bathroom and started to lay everything out. "What are you still- ow- doing here?"

"I came bearing... good news?"

"You sound so confident." She pulled her shirt off, with a loud hiss, and tossed it into the bath. That was another shirt down the drain and she grabbed the bottle of whiskey, pouring a little bit onto the wound. She put the bottle down and thumped her fist on the counter to help her to deal with the burst of pain before she let out a deep breath and looked at the wound. It was deep enough to need stitches and she poked at the wound gently, forcing a trickle of blood to seep from the wound.

Gabriel came in, wearing a shirt and pants, and took a seat on the toilet, opposite the mirror and the sink so that Charlotte could see his reflection as he spoke. "I found him. But you won't be killing him."

Charlotte frowned and grabbed a needle from the med kit and some thread. She struggled to thread the needle before she grabbed the lighter and ran the flame over the needle. "Why not?"

"Cause he'll kill you first?"

She flicked her eyes up to meet the deep confused frown in Gabriel's face and looked down at her chest. "So how-" she groaned as she made the first incision with the needle, "how do we get the ring?" Charlotte let out a sigh and started to slowly thread her shoulder, the pain turning into a dull ache with each incision.

Gabriel sighed and tilted his head from one side to the next, "He's... agreed... to _talk_ to someone. But he hasn't said when or where or who."

Charlotte looked over her shoulder at him with a frown. "How is that good news?"

He raised his brows and held his hands up, "_Because _it means that he's on our side? He doesn't want us to try killing him and he's willing to talk this over."

She shook her head with a sigh and tied off the thread. She wrapped it around her finger and craned her head down to bite the extra thread off before she dropped that on the counter. Charlotte grabbed the whiskey and splashed some of that over the wound again, groaning before she screwed her eyes shut and grumbled, "And what if he wants to make some kind of crap deal? The ring for a life? Or for a favour that involves something ridiculous?"

"Hey! At least he will talk to us! Everybody else just wanted to kill us."

"You mean me, Sam and Dean? You've been nowhere near them!"

He waved his hands at her as he blew his lips. "Pfft, whatever."

She ground her teeth together and wiped over the wound with a towel, dropping the bloodied towel onto the floor to grab a gauze pad and some tape and fix it over her wound. It would take a while before it healed anywhere close to properly and she sighed, checking that it was all done and grabbed the whiskey, perched herself on the edge of the tub and took a few large mouthfuls. "When you know, let me know."

He nodded his head with a grin, "Of course! That's what I came back for!"

Charlotte took another couple of mouthfuls before she stood up, shaking her head. She put the bottle back on the counter and headed straight for her bed, falling down on top of it with a happy hum. "Can you leave now?" she mumbled against the bed.

"Adios! Sweet dreams."

"Yeah," she whispered before she started to drift off, the world already falling silent around her as she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Guest: **Thank you! And oh my god, thank you! That means a lot.

**Bjq:** Thanks, me too. It's nice being healthy. I'm glad you're still enjoying this story and hope you continue to do so.

**GrayBlueEyedBelle:** Thank you! It was great. Hahaha, I want to keep everybody second guessing.

**BeccaSco:** Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.


	82. 2010 March part 2

**A/N: **A thing happened with this chapter. A really big, feeling, emotional thing. Have fun!

Side note: BIG thanks to **StelleProcella16**. I owe you big for saving this story!

* * *

2010 – March

Part 2

Charlotte frowned as she stepped up to the door of the motel room that Dean had told her to meet him at. His text had been vague and she'd asked him to elaborate on the details but he didn't reply, and he didn't pick up when she tried ringing him, which had only made her worry and panic grow with every passing minute. She raised her hand to knock before she shook her head and pushed the door open. "Dean?"

"Charlotte."

Her eyes looked for his voice and she watched Dean stand up from his position on the edge of the bed. "What's going on?"

He froze a foot away form the bed and she watched him hesitate, testing the words on his tongue. She frowned as he shrugged and waved her over to the bed in the same gesture. After a moment of staring at him, Charlotte stepped over to the bed and sat down, her eyes fixed on him with the same frown. She waited, watching him pull all sorts of faces as he worded the sentences in his mind before he spoke. When the minutes started to drag by, filled with nothing but Dean starting and stopping his sentences before sighing, Charlotte grabbed his hands and squeezed his fingers gently. "Dean, please, just, talk to me."

He met her gaze and there was a guilty innocence in his eyes that made her hate whatever was going to come out of his mouth. Eventually Dean opened his mouth and slowly stumbled out, "Th-there was this town, with- with these people." Dean stopped talking again and Charlotte waited for him as his gaze drifted away from her face.

"Dean?"

He flicked his eyes back to her with a hum, "Huh?"

Charlotte sighed and brushed her thumb across the back of his knuckles, "Is this going somewhere?"

His bottom lip shivered and she felt her heart hammer in heavily in her chest. That was never a good sign. "I don't- I don't think the rings is a good idea."

She blinked and frowned as she tilted her head slightly. "What?"

Dean shrugged and avoided her gaze, "Look, there- there was this Whore of Babylon and-" her frown deepened as she listened to him, trying to follow his train of thought. "-and apparently only someone who-who is a 'true servant of Heaven'," Dean made quotation marks around those particular words and Charlotte's confusion wasn't eased, "could kill her."

She closed her eyes and took a breath before she flicked her eyes open and shrugged a shoulder, "I don't know what that has to do with locking with Lucifer away?"

"_I_ killed her. Cas couldn't, Sam couldn't, a damn Priest couldn't kill the bitch. But I could. That- that says something, don't you think?"

She stared at him for a moment before she shook her head, "No? Wha- why?"

Dean's mouth worked as he tried to answer her before he let go and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "Michael. Heaven's biggest weapon."

Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face and she stood up, vigorously shaking her head. "No. No. No, not happening. Not _fucking _happening."

"Char-"

"Fuck off!"

She turned and watched as Dean screwed his own fingers in his hair with a heavy breath. He shook his head, the muscles in his jaw working as he slowly said, "If I don't say yes, what Zach shows me happens."

"And what Zach showed you is _one _possible future! How about we try everything and leave Michael til last?"

Dean jumped to his feet and held a hand out, "That's exactly what happens! I tried anything and then Michael refused! He left us to rot!"

Charlotte shook her head, the anger building. She was not hearing this. "Zach is a manipulative bastard who _wants _you to say yes so he twists the future to get that result!"

"And what if he's right?"

"And what if he's wrong?"

They were yelling at each other, eyes narrowed and faces twisted into venom, but neither were willing to back down and Charlotte could feel the air charged with something different to their usual atmosphere, something dangerous.

"So," Dean started, "you'd rather we watch Lucifer burn half the world down before we consider the biggest weapon we have?"

"Yes!"

"That's fucking stupid and you know it!"

"And willingly throwing yourself to the Angels is as good as suicide and you fucking know that! That isn't a way to live! You say yes and you're dead! There's no coming back from that!"

"Maybe it'd be for the best!"

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him. His shoulders were heaving in time with his breathing and his glare threatened death. "What?" she mumbled.

"Maybe," he said, his voice a little calmer, "it'd be for the best."

It took her a moment to finally register what it was Dean was saying and she took a step closer to him to mumble in a deadly whisper, "How?"

Dean scoffed and shook his head once, "How would it not be? You think I haven't noticed that everyone I touch or care about dies? Or gets hurt? Sam? You? Bobby? My Dad? Even Cas!"

Charlotte reacted as soon as he finished talking. She lifted her hands and firmly shoved them against Dean's chest with a growl. "You fucking idiot! We don't care! We don't blame you! We don't want to see you throw your life away because you're having a fucking senior moment! We want to see you tomorrow, and the next day and the next."

Dean frowned and held his hands up, "There won't be a next if we don't do something that'll actually fucking work!"

"We need one more god damned ring. That's it."

"From Death! _Death_."

"So?"

Dean growled, and shook his head with a scoff, "It's _Death!_ What's he going to do? Just hand it over?"

"Maybe!"

Dean scoffed again and shook his head with a wry chuckle, "Come on. When does anything in this world hand us anything?"

Charlotte shook her head and ground her teeth together. Their lives had been very short on hand served golden platters, but that didn't justify this. "I made you a promise," Charlotte ground out.

Dean frowned and took a step closer to her, "What?"

She glared at him and growled, "I made you a fucking promise. I told you that I would make sure that that future wouldn't happen."

"Keeping me from saying 'yes', keeps _that _future happening."

Charlotte slammed her hands against his chest again, the tears beginning to sting her eyes. "You're not a quitter! You never throw in the towel!" She slammed his chest again, pushing him back a step, "Why? Why the fuck are you saying this? Why now? This isn't you!" The tears started to fall down her cheeks and she wanted to wipe them away and shove Dean away from herself.

"I'm not quitting!"

"It is! It's signing yourself up for death," she dropped her hands and glared up at him, "You told me once that you would like to go down fighting with a gun in your hand. Not on your back with your ass in the air!"

Dean frowned at her and shook his head, "That's not wh-"

"That's exactly what you're doing! You're taking the cowards way out and letting them use you like Kermit the frog!"

Dean stared at her, his brows raised and said, "Kermit the frog?"

She matched his expression before she sighed and stepped away, turning her back on him. She screwed her fingers in her hair and took a few deep breaths. "Don't do this," she whispered, "stop thinking about and don't do this."

"I don't know what else-"

"So think!" She screwed her eyes shut and willed the tears to stop. "Stop trying to throw your life away and think."

He didn't say anything and she felt the fear creeping up on her. Dean wasn't moving and she listened carefully for any sound coming from him. All she could make out was his heavy breathing. Eventually he moved, stepping back from her and she dropped her arms to her sides with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "but I got nothing else."

Charlotte turned and found his back staring at her. He had his head ducked and his hands on his hips. He'd given up. This was the sign of Dean giving up and she hated it, was scared of it. There was no way she could let him do this, no way she could walk away. He called her here to talk to him for a reason. If this was meant to be a goodbye speech, or a "this is it" kind of talk, then she refused to accept it. If she left him, with this thought on his mind, then she'd never forgive herself and neither would anybody else. "Dean," she whispered, mustering all of the strength in her as she curled her hand into a fist. She watched him carefully, waiting for the right moment.

Dean lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder. He turned to face her and she swung the moment she had a clear shot, connecting her fist, backed up by her angel side, straight into his face. Her fist made contact with the corner of his eye and he dropped immediately, out to the world.

"Cas," Charlotte growled, "if there was ever a time I needed you, that _Dean_ needed you, it's now."

There was a flutter of feathers and wings and she glanced up to see Cas standing on one side of the bed, his brows furrowed as he looked from herself to Dean and back. "What happened?"

She rolled her eyes at his concern and stretched her fingers out to get rid of the dull ache there, "The dick wants to be Michael's bitch and say yes."

Castiel froze and he tilted his head with a small glare. "What?" he hissed.

"Can you, can you take him to Bobby's? Put him in the panic room. We can babysit his sorry ass until he's thinking clearly."

Cas nodded and stepped forward, grabbing one of Dean's arms and pulling him up as if he weighed nothing. He gave her a small frown and mumbled, "Are _you_ okay?"

She took a deep breath and shrugged a shoulder, "I don't know, Cas. I don't know."

He gave her a small nod and in the next second he was gone. Charlotte let out a shaky breath and screwed her eyes shut. She stepped over to the bed and sat down, her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She let a couple of fresh tears begin down her face again and shook her head. "He can't do that," she whispered with a small sniffle, "he can't. He can't."

* * *

**A/N: **

**bjq: **Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.


	83. 2010 March part 3

**A/N:** Hey guys, things are mostly under control now. Sorry about not being able to update last week. But I'm back! Enjoy.

* * *

2010 – March

Part 3

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Charlotte tapped her finger against the beer in her hand, her eyes fixed on the bubbling liquid in the bottle. She focused on bubbles as they floated from the bottom and popped on the surface, trying to ignore Dean's yelling from downstairs in the panic room.

"Are we just going to leave him there?" Jo asked, her arms folded over her chest and her eyes turned towards the door that lead downstairs.

Sam sighed and nodded his head, "Yeah, for now."

"But for how long?"

"Until the jackass comes to his fucking senses," Charlotte mumbled with a deep frown. She was going through what they had in her mind. The Colt didn't work. Michael was out of the question. They had three of the four horseman rings but Death wouldn't let them come to him until he wanted to, which meant that they had to wait. They had to still come up with some way to get Lucifer in the cage and Charlotte was stuck on that one. Either somebody had to toss him in, without being seen, and strong enough, or somebody let Lucifer take them over and try to fight against his hold long enough to jump in. She flicked her eyes to Sam and chewed on the inside of her cheek. _Don't you dare consider it_, she quietly thought to herself.

"Well," Bobby said, "anybody got any plans?"

"What about Gabriel?" Natalie voiced.

Charlotte glanced at her and sighed before she rolled her head back and mumbled, "Gabe, short ass, come out come out if you've got a plan to kill your brother."

"Wow," Jo said, "anybody would come out to something like that."

"Bite me," Charlotte shot back.

Jo rolled her eyes and leaned against the door frame. "Lucifer's old, so maybe something old will help us, like some old spells or weapons."

Bobby shook his head, "I've looked through everything, used every contact I have. Nobody's got anything. Any old weapons that would date back to biblical times are missing, broken or locked away halfway across the world."

Sam perched himself on the arm of the couch, his head tilted to one side, and said, "Why don't we find Death? He's got the last ring and once we've got that, we can go after Lucifer."

Charlotte glanced up at Sam sceptically. "Sure," she dragged out statistically, "go ahead, chase Death. I'm sure the guy responsible for literal _death_ will just let you find him. Do you remember the other Horsemen trying to kill us? You know, turning a bunch of townspeople against one another, that whole famine and pestilence thing."

Sam bitched at her with his face and said, "Look, he said he'll talk to us right? But why should we wait for him to decide when that is? Half the world could be dead before he decides."

Charlotte stood up and shrugged, "I don't know. I've never had to deal with the Apocalypse! None of us have!"

"You know," Bobby said, "there is an old spell about binding Death, not sure if it's for the literal big Grim Reaper, but we could try that."

Jo nodded her head, "I'm on board with that."

Natalie shook her head, "Are you really going to _force_ a Horseman to come to us? Against his own will? Do you really think that'll go down well?"

Sam sighed, "She has a point."

Charlotte took another sip of her beer and her gaze drifted to the door that led to the stairs to the basement. Dean had stopped shouting for now and she let out a small breath before she started towards it, "You guys think."

"You going to let him out?" Sam asked.

She rolled her eyes and glared at Sam, "I'm not stupid." She opened the door and started down the stairs, taking sips from her beer as she went.

"Finally!" Dean called out, "It's about time. Now let me out." Charlotte stopped in front of the door and gave Dean a look. He sighed, his hands wrapped around the bars on the door and he pressed his head against them. "Char, please, just, let me do this. We've got-"

"Shut up."

"-nothing else."

"I don't care."

He lifted his head and gave her a sorry expression. "What have you guys got?"

She didn't say anything, just stared at him, hating the tone in his voice and the way he was speaking. He'd given up, and she couldn't figure out why. "What happened to you?" she whispered.

"What?"

"'Us against the world'. You remember that? That's what we said, that's what we promised. Us. You and me. Together, against everything, including, _especially_ the Apocalypse. So what happened to that promise?"

Dean looked away, the same sorry expression on his face. "Reality."

"Bullshit."

"What are you going to do? Keep me locked up forever?"

Charlotte shrugged and sat down on the bottom step, "If I need to."

Dean scoffed and shoved off from the door. "Fucking fuck," he mumbled.

There was a shuffle of feet above them and mumbling of voices. Charlotte tilted her head with a small frown as she tried to listen in on the conversation. She managed to catch bits and pieces but couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. She turned her attention back to the door and back to Dean who she could see behind the bars, pacing the edge of the room. She really hated the idea of having him locked away like this, but she didn't trust him to not run off and do something stupid. Stupid decisions ran in the Winchester family and she didn't want to let another stupid decision happen again.

But she really didn't know what they could do except wait until Death wanted to talk to them. And then what? They didn't exactly have a plan that would let them get close enough to Lucifer to use the rings. And how were they going to get him in? It wasn't like he was just going to walk into the cage for them.

She screwed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose with a frown. Why couldn't they have a simpler life?

The door behind her opened and she let her hand drop as she turned to look over her shoulder. Cas closed the door behind him as he walked down the stairs, his eyes fixed on the door. "There's been a development."

Charlotte raised her brow as Dean propped one arm over the window in the door and said, "You wanna elaborate?"

She could see the sigh in Castiel's entire body as he turned to face Dean with a small glare. "Zachariah seems to have resurrected your brother, Adam."

Charlotte frowned and glanced at Dean before she looked back at Cas, "Why?"

He tilted his head to one side before he sat down next to Charlotte, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped. "Adam is a son of John Winchester. He's Sam's brother and a potential vessel for Michael. Not the perfect solution for the Angels, but a possible one."

"Fuck me," Charlotte mumbled.

"Why the hell would they do that?" Dean asked.

Castiel looked up at Dean and said, "Maybe they're desperate. Maybe they _wrongly_ assumed you would be brave enough to withstand them."

"You know what," Dean shouted, "blow me, Cas." He shoved off from the door again and stomped in a circle.

Charlotte glanced at Dean before she looked back at Cas, "Is he upstairs?"

"Yes."

"Alright," she looked back over at Dean and stood up, using Cas' shoulder as leverage as she pushed herself up. "You mind making sure the child stays in the naughty corner?"

Cas looked up at her with a frown. "What child?"

"Dean. Dean's the child. He needs babysitting before he does something stupid. Do you mind?"

Cas flicked his eyes over to Dean and stood up with a small shake of his head, "Not at all."

Charlotte nodded and managed a small smile, "Thanks. Behave, Dean!"

"I can't exactly do anything!"

"That's the idea!"

She hurried up the stairs, draining the last of her beer before she stepped back into the main room of the house. She glanced around to see Jo sat next to who she assumed was Adam, whilst Nat was sat in a chair opposite them, a book in her hand. Sam was talking to Bobby and Charlotte made her way to the kitchen to put her bottle in the bin. She grabbed the counter with her hands and stared out of the window, a deep frown on her face.

The voices behind her dulled into a small buzz as her mind worked to figure out how they were going to get out of this mess. The Angels wanted a vessel for Michael, wanted a showdown between Michael and Lucifer. They wanted a Winchester to say yes to both, for everybody to stay out of the way until the Apocalypse had started. And they were stuck at square one, had been since this was dropped in their lap. Angels versus... Angel. Lucifer was an Angel right?

She gave the room one last glance over her shoulder before she stepped outside the back and took a few steps away from the house, making sure she was several feet into the piles of cars. Charlotte glanced back once more before she flicked her eyes to the sky and shrugged her shoulders. "Gabriel, I got a question. I don't know if you're ignoring me, but-" she bit her lip before she stuffed her hands into her jeans pockets, "but- Angels can be killed by Angel blades right? And Lucifer's an Angel. Technically. So... plan B?"

Charlotte waited, listening carefully for anything.

How long she stood there, the chill March wind nipping at the back of her neck and the tip of her nose, she didn't know. But the sun was starting to set and she wrapped her arms around her chest with a frown. Maybe it was a bad idea. Going hand to hand with the Devil? Really?

She sighed and closed her eyes before she nodded her head. She got the message. It was dumb and she'd been hanging around Dean and Sam for far too long to come up with dumb plans behind people's backs.

There was a thunk of metal on metal and she turned around to see an Angel blade sticking out of the hood of one of the cars, a piece of paper pierced beneath it and she frowned, hesitating as she stepped over to it and ripped the paper free. She had to hold the ripped halves together to see the words, "Plan B sweetheart. But you didn't get it from me," scrawled on it. There was even a love heart at the end and she rolled her eyes before she grabbed the blade and tugged it free. Charlotte raised her brows as she glanced over the blade. It looked different to the one she'd gotten a while back, different to the one she'd seen Cas use. There were sigils engraved on the blade that were different to the ones on the other blades she'd seen and she flicked her eyes to the skies. "Thanks, I owe you."

With another heavy sigh she hid the blade away and made her way back to the house. Plan B. They had a plan B. Now they just needed to work on plan A.

* * *

**bjq:** Thanks! Things are more under control now.


	84. 2010 March part 4

**A/N:** It's great to see so many people wanting to follow this story! Thank you all. Please tell me what you think? It means the world to me and brightens my day up.

In this chapter we get to see some of Natalie's back story. Enjoy!

* * *

2010 – March

Part 4

_South Dakota – Sioux Falls_

Natalie stared down at the page in front of her with a frown. Whilst the others were talking around her, she'd decided to flick through some of Bobby's books to see if there was anything that could jog her memory about something that could help them, if there was anything that could.

Her eyes were fixed on a page, reading and re-reading the lines on the page. It was a spell that involved the combining of two souls through the use of a sigil and an incantation. It wouldn't help with Lucifer, but she remembered being glued to it a while ago and she traced her fingers over the lines to make sure she was reading it right. The spell was old, centuries old and had a hand written note in the margin saying the there were ingredients that were no longer available, but she recognised the sigil.

"We got a plan A yet?" Charlotte announced. Natalie looked up and fixed her eyes on Charlotte with a deep frown. After a few moments she caught Natalie looking and frowned back at her. "What?"

Natalie glanced away to see all eyes drawn to her and she closed the book and set it back onto Bobby's desk. They had bigger things to worry about at the moment, she hoped. "Death? We've tried the Colt, that didn't work. So, Death. Get the fourth ring."

Sam let out a snort, "I don't think we'd be able to just ask Lucifer to step into the cage."

"Could always push him in," Jo suggested with a slight tilt of her head. After a pause she sighed and said, "If you don't mind potential death."

"We've got a plan A," Adam spoke up.

Natalie rolled her eyes and shook her head. The Winchester genes were the worst, most stubborn things she'd ever met. "That plan doesn't exist. The Angels are using you," she said.

Charlotte nodded, "Nat's right. They're a bunch of self righteous snobs who've got their own noses shoved up their asses. That's plan F for when we're royally fucked okay?"

The voices in the room started to rise, Adam arguing and standing his ground for being allowed to leave and say 'Yes' to Michael whilst everybody else was trying to back him down and discuss possible scenarios to make the rings work. It was their biggest lead and also their smallest. Natalie's phone started to buzz in her pocket and she pulled out with a small frown and stared at the screen. "Excuse me," she whispered as she nudged past Sam to make her way to the back door, leaving everybody behind her. Once she was clear of the mumble of voices she answered the call with a worried, "Hello?"

There was silence for a moment before somebody let out a breath and quietly muttered, "I thought you weren't going to answer."

Natalie's shoulders sagged and she wrapped her free arm around her waist, "Ethan, I'm always going to answer you."

"Right."

She bit her lip as she waited for her brother to continue before she nudged him with raised brows, "Eth?"

She could hear him shake his head and rub a hand over his face, "I-it's, Dad." Her heart sank and she tightened her hold on her phone. Her blood pounded in her ears and she felt her throat begin to dry up as Ethan went on, "Co- couple of days ago he erm...he- he had a s-stroke. Doc's don- fuck," he sniffed and Natalie screwed her eyes shut. "A day. Maybe two."

"Jeus Christ," she whispered and she brought a hand to her face to catch the tears that started to fall across her cheeks. "Why didn't you call me sooner?" she whined.

"He wouldn't let me."

Natalie let out a scoff and shook her head. "God dammit," she whispered and she shook her head again before she took a deep breath and wiped her face. "Okay, I'm coming."

"Nat-"

"I'm coming. I don't care if he likes it or not, I'm coming."

There was silence for a few minutes before she heard the faint echo of his voice mutter, "Okay. See you."

"Bye." She hung up and stared at the glass screen on her phone for several seconds before the tears started again. Her and her father had seperated on bad terms, him refusing to acknowledge her or call her his daughter, but that didn't mean she didn't care that he was dying. "Fuck!" she let out after a moment.

"Is- is everything okay?"

Natalie jumped and turned to stare at Sam, making no attempt to hide her red, watery eyes. "No. It's not."

His expression to immediate concern as he closed the space between them and gently grabbed her shoulders, "You want to talk about it?"

She took a breath before she stepped into Sam's space and wrapped her arms around his waist. She closed her eyes, laid her head against his chest and listened to the sound of his heart for a few minutes before she finally opened her mouth. "My Dad's going to die."

"Your- I didn't know ab- I-"

Natalie managed a small smile and shrugged. "We're not exactly on talking terms."

Sam rubbed small circles across her back and pressed his cheek onto the top of her head, "What happened?"

She let out a heavy breath and shook her head gently, "I was twenty two and just landed an internship in a marketing business. The best thing that could've happened at the time. I'd been there two months and I was working the late shift to finish up this big project for the next morning's meeting. The lights went out, I could smell sulphur and... next thing I know I'm driving home, but it's not me. It's my hands, my feet, my everything, but it wasn't me doing it." She took a shaky breath, that same night still fresh in her mind and she couldn't help the small shiver that ran down her spine. Sam's arms tightened their hold around her and she felt him press a small kiss to her temple and she smiled at the gesture. "My Dad came home to find me covered in my Mom's blood and a knife in my hand."

"Jesus," Sam muttered. "Did you tell him what happened?"

"I tried, but being possessed by a demon doesn't exactly fly and I was put on trial, pleaded insanity and committed for eight months before I was released again."

"Nat, I'm sorry, I- I had no idea."

She shrugged and slowly pulled away from Sam as she wiped her face with the back of her hands. "I don't make it a habit of telling people that. But he never forgave me and I think he convinced my brother that I did it of my own free will. He thinks I'm still a little crazy."

Sam's brows were drawn into a worried crease and he grabbed her hands in his and ran his thumbs across the back of her knuckles. "Do you want me to come with you? There's plenty of people in there to deal with the Apocalypse for a couple of days?"

Natalie smiled warmly and shook her head once. "I'll be fine. They need you more than me."

"You sure you'll be able to drive?"

"I'll be fine."

Sam's eyes scoured her face for several seconds before he finally nodded and stepped forward, one hand cupping her face. He tilted his head and Natalie gasped at the sudden surprise of Sam kissing her. When he pulled away she blinked up at him and he stroked his thumb across her cheek. "Call me if you need to. And drive safe."

She grinned and nodded her head, "I will. Be safe, all of you."

"We will."

She dropped his hand and ducked her head, tucking her hair behind her ear as she walked towards her car. She didn't look back as she climbed in, buckled her belt and set the car into drive. She dared one glance back when she was turning off of Bobby's property and her heart warmed at the sight of Sam watching her leave in the rearview mirror.

* * *

The drive to Michigan had taken Natalie the best part of sixteen hours, stopping once at a motel room to catch a few hours before she crashed her car on the side of the road. But once she reached her home town of Jackson she had made a direct line for the hospital, Ethan having given her their Father's hospital room and floor.

She had managed to park up, make her way inside and into the elevator. She had even managed to make it out on the right floor and all the way to the door to her Father's room before she froze and her heart started to hammer away. Natalie could feel a thin layer of sweat begin on the palm of her hand and she tapped her hand against the side of her leg in a nervous tick as she took quick, short breaths. Three feet away from her was her Father's room, and in that bed would be her Dad. It had been seven years she'd last seen him, since he'd told her to never come home and seven years since she'd seen his face.

He was going to die and she'd ran away to chase the demon that had killed her Mother, getting caught in all sorts of cases along the way.

"You came."

Natalie blinked before she turned her head to see the blank face of her brother. He wore glasses, which framed the same brown eyes that had and caught the tips of shaggy brown hair. They'd always looked similar enough to know that they were related and nothing had really changed. "Of course, I did," she muttered. Ethan stood a few inches taller than her and he flicked his eyes away and walked into the room. Natalie followed him with a small frown, forgetting how awkward it was to talk to him face to face. She flicked her eyes over him, looking out for any signs of changes. There were a lot, he'd gained a little weight and his hair was starting to look a little thin around his ears, but the biggest thing that stood out was the gold band around his finger. "You got married."

He glanced down at his hand before he made an effort to try to hide it, his eyes focused purely on the bed. "Yeah, last year."

Natalie took a standing position on the opposite side of the bed and let her eyes glanced over the thin figure of their Dad, his eyes closed and one arm laid across his stomach. There was a tube hooked up to his mouth and she folded her arms over chest, the urge to cry coming back to her. "It's okay," she whispered, "I'm not mad."

They stayed like that in silence for several minutes, both of them staring at the bed before Ethan hesitantly glanced up at her. "You've changed."

Natalie met his eyes and raised a brow, "It's been seven years."

He shook his head and crossed his arms on the edge of the bed, "Different, like you're ready for a fight."

She frowned and dropped her gaze to the bed. She stared at the lifeless hand in front of her and reached out for it, feeling clammy skin underneath her warm hand and she tightened her hold on her Dad's hand. "And?"

There was silence for a few more moments, filled by nothing but the sound of the ventilator keeping oxygen pumping around their Dad's body, before Ethan broke it. "What have you been doing?"

"Helping people."

"How?"

"By getting them out of bad situations."

Silence. "You make any friends?"

She smiled and met his gaze, "A few."

He nodded his head and glanced back at their unconscious father. "Good. Good."

* * *

The Doctors had turned the ventilator off, and as much as Natalie wanted to fight that decision, she had no power here. Ethan had the final word and after being pointed out that their Father was brain dead, the stroke having affected him too severely to recover from, she had relented and kept her mouth shut.

All she'd wanted to do was go home, apologise and tell him that she still loved him, that she had never hurt her Mother, and now she wouldn't be able to. Her and Ethan had been left to sit by his side as the Nurse's removed the wires from his body, turned machines off and closed the door behind them.

Ethan was crying too and as much as Natalie wanted to reach out and grab his hand, squeeze it and tell him that she was there too, that it would be okay, she knew he wouldn't accept her hand and she folded her arms in her lap, her hands curled tightly around her elbows. "He never forgave you."

She jerked her head up at the sudden declaration, the tears on her face being interrupted for a moment before she felt them grow. "Do you? I didn't do it."

Ethan shrugged and pulled his glasses off to wipe at his eyes. "Does it matter?"

That hurt. The words stabbed at her heart and she leaned back in her seat, physically recoiling from the words, "Ethan."

He settled his glasses back onto his face and looked her in the eyes as he said, "I don't want to see you again. Ever."

Her lips parted in shock and she had to blink the tears out of her eyes a couple of times before she found her voice, "You're my brother."

"I don't want to be. I can't forgive you, ever." Natalie's bottom lip quivered at his words and she felt her body beginning to shake as he went on, "I didn't want you to see him, didn't think you needed to know, but my wife she- forced me to. You've seen him, now- now I'd-"

She stood up, not giving him a chance to finish and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She gained the looks of a few people around the corridors but she ignored them in favour of marching herself to the nearest stairwell. She shoved the door open, took a few steps and dropped, sinking onto them as she bawled, loudly. There had been a little bit of hope that maybe, maybe she'd be able to talk to her brother, but all hope had been crushed and buried and it hurt, more than anything she'd felt before.

* * *

An hour later she'd been able to drag herself to the crappy hospital canteen, grab herself a crappy sandwich and take a seat in one of the plastic chairs that was far too stiff to be a chair. She picked the sandwich apart, pulling the crust away piece by piece, shoving every other tiny bit into her mouth and leaving the rest in a pile on the table.

She didn't care about the mess, that was somebody else's problem right now. She had already made the decision that once she left the hospital, that she was going straight back to Sioux Falls and shoving Michigan as far from her mind as possible. Back to business.

But she wanted to dwell a little bit longer, kicking herself and cursing her brother and the demon quietly in her mind. She hadn't killed her mother, and yet everybody thought she had. She was the crazy girl who had snapped and stabbed her Mom to death as she was making a fish pie.

And now her brother wanted nothing more to do with her.

She shoved a piece of lettuce between her lips and chewed disgustingly on it before she swallowed, her stomach feeling as hollow as her chest did. Her eyes were so focused on the pile of bread crumbs in front of her that she hardly registered the old man sit across from her, a plate of pizza in front of him.

"I find you completely interesting."

She froze and slowly looked up to a black suit with an impeccably white shirt, all worn by an elderly gentleman who screamed class with grey hair that was slicked back across his pale faced skin. "Excuse me?"

He took a bite of the pizza with a small hum and set the piece down again. "I find you completely interesting."

She ground her teeth together and sat up a little straighter. "And why's that?"

He raised one brow but his lips stayed in the same passive line as he said, "Because of who you are, Natalie. You weren't born to be a Hunter, you weren't born to save the world. You weren't born to be possessed by a demon and kill your own Mother, but amazingly you're still here."

"How do you know about that?"

He had been taking small bites of his pizza, each bite gaining a happy hum from him. "The same way that I know that you've died twice in your life time and yet you're still here. That you hunt with the Winchester's and that Charlotte is your closest friend."

"Again, how do you know about that?" There was an edge of fear laced in her words but she tried to force the feeling away from her face with a glare and narrowed eyes as she squared her shoulders.

He levelled a look at her and quietly ate his pizza for a minute before he went on. "I've been around for a long time. I've seen a lot of things. The Dinosaurs, Stonehenge, the Angels being born, humans being created. I have watched creation come into existence and after everything that I have seen, there is very little that interests me anymore. Pizza is one exception, but so are you."

Natalie frowned and sat up a little straighter in her chair. She glanced around the cafeteria and noticed that nobody was paying them any attention. She focused her gaze back onto this stranger and ground out, "Who the hell are you?"

He paused before he said in a low voice, "I've been known by many names, but you'll know me as one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death."


	85. 2010 March part 5

**A/N:** Who's excited? I am! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

2010 – March

Part 5

_Michigan – Jackson_

Natalie stared, eyes wide, and frozen to the spot. Death took another bite of his pizza and chewed, seemingly oblivious to her sudden fear. Why was he here, with her? And how was he acting so casual about this? He was the horsemen of death, had probably been the one to carry her Father over to the other side, and yet, he was right here, acting as though this was a normal conversation. "My Dad?" she blurted, unable to gather any other words.

He glanced up at her before he grabbed a napkin and wiped his lips delicately, "It was his time."

She blinked and swallowed nervously before she mumbled, "Is there- can you-"

"No," he said as he placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. "It was his time. If I interrupt that, then the order of life and death is unbalanced and it tries to right itself. Your brother, expecting his second child, could've died, or the attending Nurse who had been looking after your Father, a single Mother of two troubled kids, might've had a heart attack. You may have passed away instead."

Natalie flicked her gaze away and shifted in her seat with a minute nod. "I get it," she mumbled quietly. "I just don't get why you're here."

"Because I wanted to meet the man responsible for your life." She raised a brow and glanced back up at Death as he studied her. "I have to say I was very disappointed. I was expecting...more."

She frowned now and sat up a little straighter in her chair, "What does that mean?"

Death gave her a once over before he shook his head once as he withdrew his hands from the table, "Nothing that matters."

Natalie took a deep breath and glanced away, not sure how she felt about those comments. She played with her fingers on the table top, brown eyes fixed on her digits as she pressed one against the other. Her phone buzzed and she hesitated before she pulled it out to a text message from Charlotte: _You good? _She smiled at the concern, it didn't look like much but that was Charlotte's way of letting Natalie know that she was all ears if she needed. _I'll call you_.

It was a few seconds before she received another text, _I'm all yours._

Natalie smiled and set her phone on the table and flicked her eyes up towards Death. "Why do you want to help us?"

He pursed his lips for a moment before he tilted his head to one side with a heavy breath. "Because after centuries of being locking away, Lucifer freed me and bound me to him. If you've been watching the news, so far it's been a tsunami and an earthquake, I've been doing what Lucifer has asked. I don't like being told what to do."

"Just, how old are you?"

"Old enough to think of Lucifer as nothing more than a child who isn't getting the attention he wants and is throwing a tantrum."

She raised her brows at that with a small smile, "Fair enough."

"I'm willing, to hand over my ring to you to use to lock him away, on one condition."

Natalie's smile disappeared and she knitted her brows into a frown, "What?"

His lips twitched into the essence of a small smirk and he leaned back in his seat. "One condition, you do that, and you can have my ring and we go our seperate ways. I'd like to keep my life, and I'm sure you and your friends would too."

Natalie squirmed. He was asking her to agree to something that she didn't know, and there was no telling what it would be, good or bad. But they needed Death's ring for their plan. She wiped her face again, the dried tears being erased, and sat up. She licked her lips and steadied her eyes to meet Death's with a small glare, "Are you going to tell me what it is before I agree?"

He nodded his head once and clasped his hands on the table again, "Of course."

* * *

Dean kicked himself all the way back to Bobby's, chiding himself and replaying each event in his mind, telling himself how it could've worked out better. Despite all of the warding Cas had done to Adam's ribs, the angels had found him and convinced him to give away his location. Despite them going after him, after Cas cutting an angel banishing sigil into his chest to get rid of the foot men, it wasn't enough. Despite Charlotte helping him to kill Zachariah, Michael had still taken Adam's initial yes as the big Yes.

There were a hundred different things they could've done and Dean kicked himself for each one they didn't try. Bobby had driven to meet them and he sat in the back, Charlotte on the opposite side of the car, her eyes fixed on the window. Sam was in the front, hands in his lap and his fingers playing with his phone.

The radio was the only noise in the car and Dean couldn't even find it in himself to mentally sing along to the songs.

It was a long and mentally painful journey and by the time they made it back to South Dakota, Bobby and Sam all but jumped out of the car. Dean stayed where he was, eyes fixed on his feet as he glared at them, still replaying the events in his mind. The silence made everything just a little bit more painful and he took a deep breath.

"It's not your fault." Charlotte broke the silence and he heard her shift in her seat as she went on, "Stop beating yourself up."

Dean scoffed and turned his head to glance out of the window, away from her. "I could've said Yes, saved Adam from it all. Could've gone for Adam instead of Sam, go in guns blazing so that we still had Cas. I co-"

"Shut up," she whispered. Dean snapped his mouth shut and pursed his lips as he waited with the sigh she let out. "Dean," she carried on quietly, "there's a million and one things we _all _could've done. _All _of us. Natalie could've been there, Jo could've run interference with Cas. Anything. Sam could've screamed Yes to Lucifer. But we didn't. None of us did anything different, and if you want to blame anyone, blame all of us. Maybe if I wasn't insistent on keeping you locked away, maybe if I'd gone in with the intention of killing the angels instead of letting Cas take a hit for us. Please, stop thinking this is your fault. It's not." Dean bit his lip and slowly shook his head. "You want some truth? I worried that you would say Yes to Michael. Sam worried, Bobby worried, we _all _worried that you would immediately say Yes, without a second thought. You'd made it clear that that was your intention, but you didn't."

"I-"

"_You. Didn't._ I saw you. When you were there, with the opportunity, you decided to go down fighting, like you always do. When it came down to the moment, after everything, you ran from them."

Dean licked his lips and screwed his eyes shut as he pressed his head to the cool glass. Everything was going to shit. Nothing was right and nothing was ever going to be right. But Charlotte's words were strangely soothing, strangely doing wonders to his chest, his mind and his heart and he almost didn't want to believe her words.

There was a shift in the seat next to him and he felt her slide a hand over his wrist and lace her fingers with his. He refused to look at her, feeling his eyes well up.

"Despite what Zach showed you, about the future, there's still a part of you that has faith in _us. _In me, Sam, Bobby, Jo, Cas, Nat. In all of us. And that part will keep you fighting, keep us fighting, keep us all together on this shit show. Please, don't think you're the only one beating yourself up, that you're the only one with regrets to what just happened. We're all pissed, all kicking ourselves. Please, just, stop, for two minutes, and realise that we'll come up with a plan, that we can do this how _we _want to. Not how Lucifer wants, not how Michael or the other Angels want, but how we want."

One single tear started down his cheeks and he couldn't stop it any longer. More tears quickly followed and he wiped his face with his free hand as he turned to look at her. She smiled sadly at him and lifted her other hand to pull him against him, her arm wrapped around him. "We've got this, we can do this. Okay? I promise, we'll do this." She kissed his temple and he wrapped his arms around her, the warmth of her body and the scent of her comforting the mess of emotions and thoughts running through his mind. He started to feel calmer as he let his frustrations out in the form of tears, wetting her shoulder with quiet sobs.

"We'll make it through this. I promise."

Dean nodded his head, burying his face a little further into his shoulder with a shaky breath. He really hoped they did, he needed them to make it through this. At least for his own sanity.

* * *

**A/N:**

**bjq: **Thanks! It's great to see that you're still enjoying this.


	86. PSA

Hey guys,

No chapter this week. I've got family coming round for a few days and I'm going to be buys for a while.

Should be back next week. Sorry!

WP


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